The Sun and the Moon
by astridelta
Summary: Team 7 is charged with escorting a mysterious prisoner across the Fire Country- but what does he know about Naruto and his past? And what lengths will Sasuke go to in order to uncover what his teammate has worked so hard to hide? Book 1 of the S/M series.
1. Prologue

The Sun and the Moon

It was the day of the Sakura Festival in Konoha. A night where, as a child, Sasuke Uchiha had run around with a sparkler held in a small fist while his mother gazed on approvingly while his father and brother appraised the stores that were open late on the warm spring event.

A night that Sasuke always valued as special, happy, endearing. After the Uchiha massacre however, the raven haired boy didn't dare step outside his empty home for the event, fearful of emotions and memories he longed to lock away forever in the dense drawers of his mind.

Of course, however, a certain three people would show up on his doorstep in the mid afternoon, interrupting his daily meditation. And in particular…"Teme! Open your damn door NOW!" Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he didn't answer the idiotic DOBE'S voice. "Ne, Naruto…perhaps he's busy putting his heart in the freezer. You know how he gets on Tuesdays…"

Kakashi's voice. Another twitch and Sasuke was forcibly keeping himself seated in the dim calmness that was his room, the one place he felt safe in the whole universe, where he was away from the insanity that was…"…Bastard, we know you're in there! If you don't answer I am going to come in there and kick your ass!" …Naruto.

Sasuke growled under his breath but refused to allow his teammates the pleasure of bothering him for some trivial matter that could certainly wait until his blood pressure went down. "Naruto, could you at least TRY to be a little more kind?" Sakura's voice asked in exasperation, and Sasuke was begrudgingly grateful, for once, for her over-protectiveness of him from Naruto.

"How can I be kind to that stuck-up bastard Sakura-chan?" "Sasuke, come on-" "Sasuke, get out here-" "Sasuke-" "Sasuke-" "SASUKE-" "WHAT!" Sasuke nearly screamed while he threw open his front door with a bang; he could practically feel the smoke leaving his ears and nose in explosions. Kakashi's visible eye widened in either fear or amusement (Sasuke assumed the latter) while Sakura squeaked wordlessly and pushed Naruto in front of her, peeking over the blonde's shoulder while said blonde attempted pitifully to match Sasuke's death glare.

"'Bout time," Naruto muttered. Sasuke's eyes widened then narrowed. The idiot had the FUCKING AUDACITY to stand here as if he didn't just bother Sasuke at all. "You had better have a good reason to be here," Sasuke managed to growl without yelling and (hopefully) blowing the intruding trio to the complex gates and shutting the metal doors with the power of wind, anger, and mind.

"Tonight's the…uh…Sakura Festival…" the pink haired kunochi behind Naruto stuttered out. "And Naruto here had the brilliant idea of going to it as a team," Kakashi finished and patted the fox boy's other shoulder, probably smiling but Sasuke couldn't tell because of the damn mask the Jounin wore. The raven glared back up at the white haired man wordlessly, hoping to convey his feelings of murder and violence to the most sensible of the three. "Chop chop," Kakashi said cheerfully.

"We're going shopping to get you and Naruto some appropriate attire. So I suggest you lighten up and take it like a man." Sasuke turned his glower to Naruto. "You fucking idiot," he hissed, but refused to step out of his doorway. Naruto grinned back. "Yeah," he said. "I know. Now let's get going, Kakashi says he'll take us to get ramen afterwards!"

Sasuke caught Kakashi's eye and the jounin shook his head slowly in response to Naruto's statement. "I'm busy. Go away." "Aw Sasuke…come on," Kakashi stated out loud. "I can't go, okay?" Sasuke blurted out suddenly and turned his back on his teammates, preparing to shut the door in their faces.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, I'll talk to him." Naruto's voice muttered while Sasuke stepped inside. "You will talk to no-one," Sasuke replied (albeit a little bit too coldly for what he had intended to convey) and began his descent to closure until Naruto's fist closed on the door under his own. Two sets of footsteps drifted away from Sasuke's ears.

"Teme," Naruto started lowly. "Tell me what's up." "Go away Naruto," Sasuke ground out past clenched teeth while unwanted memories flooded past his closed eyelids. "Sasuke, I want to go out tonight and have fun, but it won't be the same without you. Please talk to me?" Naruto stepped inside and shut the door softly, the smaller boy trying to peer past Sasuke's bangs which were thankfully obscuring most of his face.

Sasuke clenched his eyelids tight and imagined Naruto catching on fire, wishing it was true and yet wanting to tell someone anyway. And it may as well be Naruto, so. . . "This festival…used to be the highlight of my year," Sasuke slowly began. Telling this secret to Naruto tasted like iron on his tongue; spilling the emotions he tried so hard, for so long, to hide was a pain the was near physical as he continued.

"The last time I went to this I was 7 years old. My father and mother left me in my brother's care, and he bought me anything I wanted from any stand, no matter what. Then…" Sasuke cut off while his body language told the rest to the silent boy beside him. "I can't go out tonight Naruto. It hurts too damn much," Sasuke finished dully and stepped forward, further into the empty hallways of his home and praying to whatever powers that existed that Naruto would take the hint to GET THE HELL OUT.

Of course…the blonde was too dense and moved with Sasuke, probably gazing nervously at the blank walls, devoid of any paintings or decorations due to the fact Sasuke had torn away every reminder of his former family life in a fit of childish rage that he had forgot that happened.

The remains of whatever hung in the home were probably laying broken under piles of trash by now anyway, so it was unimportant at this point, where Sasuke unknowingly led the way to his bedroom. "Sasuke…can I tell you something?" Naruto asked hesitantly and leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. "Hn." Sasuke's approval to continue.

"…I've never been to this festival. I've been to scared to, yeah? This year though…I promised myself I'd go and…I can't go by myself. The villagers wouldn't like it. I thought maybe it would be nice to, you know, go out as a team, to have fun or whatever you do at festivals…" Naruto trailed off into tense silence as Sasuke pondered what he had said.

"Why are you scared to go?" He finally asked softly and turned so he too was leaning on the wall and facing Naruto, who was taking his turn in avoiding the other's gaze. "It's not really important…but I think you'd like to get out sometime, I mean away from here for something other than training or getting food…If you need to eat anyway…I mean I don't know if you're even human so…"

"Naruto." "Yeah?" Sasuke managed to smirk down at the blonde. "Shut up." Then he hugged him. "Wha-?! Sasuke! What are you doing?" Naruto yelled. Sasuke smirked again. "Comforting myself." 'And you,' he added mentally. "By acting like a living creature?" "Yes dobe. Just go along with it…"

Several tense moments passed and Sasuke wondered if Naruto had turned to stone, until the blonde's arms wrapped tentatively around his waist and his hands went up to grasp his shoulders. Sasuke moved his own arms to grasp Naruto's hips lightly, burying his face in the soft sunshine hair that adorned the boy's head and taking solace that perhaps he wasn't as alone as he thought.

"I'll go get some money, then after the festival I'll take you for ramen." "Eh? Wait, I thought Kakashi-sensei was doing that! Hey! BASTARD!" Sasuke snorted and stepped inside his bedroom, shutting the door before Naruto could slam into him. "You thought wrong, dobe," he called through the wood, then turned to his dresser. 'Perhaps…I can love someone after all,' both of the boys thought. After all, the sun and the moon are meant to exist together, right?


	2. Dark Moon

Chapter 1

Dark Moon

* * *

"Are you DONE putting your make-up on yet, bastard?" Naruto whined incessantly from his new position of sitting, cross-legged, on Sasuke's navy blue/black covered bed, having apparently moved from his previous position of standing in the hallway outside of Sasuke's room while Sasuke showered. "Temeee..." Annoyed but willing to let his amusement last awhile longer as it had for the past hour and a half, Sasuke shut off the water that cascaded around his body and grabbed the blank white shower curtain, yanking it aside soundlessly and stepping on the white bathroom rug before him. Reaching for a towel, the raven took his time drying himself off and listened to Naruto continue to complain and shift around. Then he deftly pulled his boxers and shorts over his legs and grabbed a new towel to dry his hair (because drying hair with a wet towel defeats the purpose of drying it).

"God dammit asshole! Sakura-chan said she'd play a game with me once the festival starts! Come on!" the squeaks and groans of metal springs coming from the other side of the steamy bathroom door implied Naruto was impatiently bouncing on the bed. Sasuke allowed himself a small smile at his cruel torture before donning his emotionless mask and his stiff, high-collared navy blue t-shirt with the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back. Because some habits do die hard; it's just something he couldn't break out of. Finally pushing the wooden door open and patting his head with the towel, Sasuke noticed Naruto hadn't said anything for a while. Then he was met with a fist hurtling straight for a spot between his eyes, accompanied by a flash of furious blue and Sasuke's own shout of "What the hell?!" before he leapt aside and wincing at the crack of wood and dry wall meeting flesh and bone.

Breathing heavily through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, Sasuke stared, wide eyed, at a VERY pissed off Naruto, who was glaring kunai at the startled raven. And Sasuke would be damned if he ever admitted that at this moment in time, he feared for his physical well-being from the dead-last of the Ninja Academy. Naruto meanwhile roughly extracted his right hand from the crater he had created in Sasuke's wall, blood trailing from his knuckles and wrist, while a cold and furious aura radiated off the blonde, and Sasuke tentatively tried to speak. "Dobe?" the raven asked quietly, trying to get Naruto to lighten up. The blonde blinked once. "Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan left," he whispered. "They said they didn't want to wait forever when there was a festival to be at." Naruto clutched his injured arm close to his chest and looked to the floor, avoiding Sasuke's eyes. "Oh." Sasuke immediately felt guilty for making Naruto wait through his prolonged cleaning session, but fought to keep the emotion from showing and instead cautiously stepped around Naruto to head for his dresser, where he kept his wallet.

Turning, he saw Naruto still staring down, at the spot where the Uchiha had been standing, rubbing his right arm and shifting from foot to foot. Sasuke sighed and moved to his bedside table, where he kept some spare bandages and salve, then motioned for Naruto to sit in front of him. The blonde complied wordlessly and Sasuke moved to crouch in front of him. "Hold your hand out," he commanded and managed to successfully hide his shock at the fact that the wounds had already stopped bleeding, then he dipped his index and middle finger into the salve jar, before spreading the gel evenly over Naruto's knuckles and wrist, washing away the dried blood, while his other hand and his teeth tore strips of bandages and placed them over the wounds. "Don't go punching holes in my house," Sasuke muttered under his breath. "Don't make me late," Naruto replied coldly and Sasuke knew Naruto was upset. The blonde looked over the raven's hair at the wall in question for a bit while Sasuke worked. "Sorry." Sasuke bit off a final strip of gauze and felt his lips accidentally brush against Naruto's fingers softly. However, Naruto seemed oblivious to the action and continued to peer over Sasuke's head.

Blushing, Sasuke grunted and turned as he stood to avoid having Naruto see his normally smooth face dyed pink and grabbed his wallet. "Let's go buy some kimonos first, then we can find Kakashi and Sakura," he muttered. "Yeah," Naruto said and followed Sasuke out of the now messy bedroom, where the raven retraced his steps (and earlier silence) to the front door. Slipping into his ninja sandals, the raven opened the door and silently greeted the sinking sun that faced him while Naruto shut the door behind them. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sasuke simply said "Let's go" and led the way through long abandoned stores and streets to the front gates, where it was if a different kind of barrier had risen in the passing years; people milled and filed about, going around shopping or talking, but put a large amount of space between the Uchiha complex and the main road, and Naruto seemed to take notice of this fact. The blonde's head swiveled from side to side, surveying the area while Sasuke ignored the lack of presence.

Weaving into the crowds, he led Naruto to the one shop that he knew of that would sell festival wear. The blonde was uncharacteristically quiet, following Sasuke closely and never walking ahead of him with his hands behind his head like usual. "Hey, dobe," Sasuke said and lightly tapped his knuckles on Naruto's expose forehead. "Eh?...Oh, what do you want bastard?" "Why are you so quiet?" Sasuke while dodging an enraged mother carrying three sobbing infants. "Just looking around. I've never been to festival, remember?" "Hn." the two fell into a comfortable silence as Sasuke led the way to the village center until he blurted out a thought he meant to keep silent. "Why haven't you been to one before?" 'Dammit Uchiha,' he silently scolded himself for the lack of respect (not that he had much anyway) for Naruto's privacy. "Heheh..." Naruto chuckled nervously and Sasuke saw him scratch the back of his head out of the corner of his eye.

"It isn't important teme. Where are we going?" Somewhat annoyed at how Naruto changed the subject, Sasuke indulged the blonde and told him the location and listened while he rambled about his day and various, meaningless events that somehow applied to the raven. 'FINALLY!' after an excruciating walk, the two finally reached Sasuke's destination, where a thin, tall blonde woman with green eyes and dressed in a mini-skirt and blue t-shirt greeted them cheerfully and also managed to shut Naruto up by smiling at him. "What can I get you boys today?" She asked sweetly and led Sasuke and Naruto further inside. "We need kimonos and getas for the festival." "Lovely! I have the perfects sets in mind for you two!"

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Forty minutes later and surrounded by a sea of multi-colored robes, Sasuke found himself royally pissed at a number of things: One, the lady had (literally) dragged Naruto to a different section of the store, leaving Sasuke to fend for himself and cursing the fact that he had not the FAINTEST IDEA of how to shop for clothes. Two, it seemed the perfect kimono was hell-bent on avoiding Sasuke, and normally he would just grab the closest kimono to his size and get the fuck out, but for some reason the raven felt the need to actually put effort into looking "perfect" tonight and it unnerved him. Three, Kakashi and/or Sakura had yet to appear in the one store that sold kimonos and Sasuke desperately needed Kakashi's sarcasm or Sakura's womanly advice, as much as he hated to admit it. Four, Naruto. For some reason, Sasuke couldn't shake the image of the blonde's upset face out of his head...and it bothered him.

A lot.

_God dammit lady, where are you?_ Sasuke grumbled to himself while poking at a red kimono with his foot and staring at it disdainfully, then his eyes caught sight of a royal blue kimono with black tailoring and designs adorning the front and back of the robe and had somehow escaped his furiously swimming hands earlier. Sasuke reached for the fine silk and gingerly ran his fingers over the soft garment, handling it like delicate glass, eyes judging if it was worthy of an Uchiha such as himself. For a while, he stood pondering the idea of himself in the robe, turning the image over in his head until eventually he found the item satisfactory and swiftly donned it, surprise coursing through him as it fit perfectly, along with the geta he later found stashed among the deep folds of clothing. Pleased with the discovery (because Uchiha's never showed happiness), the raven exited the swamp of a changing room he had been in, normal clothes and sandals in hand as he ventured into the store, trying to trace Naruto's obnoxiously loud voice in the many long rows of clothes and racks. However the task was proving to be quite difficult with the many shoppers who had the same goal as himself and Naruto, absolutely fighting for different parts of festival wear like savages and thus clogging Sasuke's ability to hear and sense chakra.

Then, finally, he caught sight of platinum blonde hair that he recognized from the woman who had helped, and later, abandoned the Uchiha in favor of the admittedly more complying idiot known as Naruto Uzumaki, and thus he hurried towards the sight. Rounding a corner where two grown women were ripping each other's hair out for a set of children's getas, Sasuke's jaw nearly dropped at the sight before him. Nearly. Naruto stood before the raven, eyes closed, in a brilliant orange and black kimono, blue trimming the collar and the black swirling in intricate patterns around his chest and covering the black belt that wrapped around his waist and was tied in the back. His bright blonde hair stood out in even greater contrast than usual, giving the illusion that Naruto had a halo hovering just above his head. Sasuke barely noticed the woman that scurried around the blonde, taking measurements or whatever, because he was simply entranced by Naruto's, well, god-like appearance.

And to put how Naruto looked to Sasuke in one word...stunning. One cobalt eye lazily blinked open to peer at the raven that was gawking at the form before him, then closed and Naruto's lips split into a small grin. "Like what you see teme?" he asked and effectively broke Sasuke out of his trance. "Hn," Sasuke replied and tore his eyes off his teammate and turned to the assistant. "is he done?" he asked. "Oh! Yes, let me get him some shoes and then you can pay up front." She scurried off, leaving Naruto and Sasuke standing alone in the isle way. Naruto looked at Sasuke appraisingly and nodded once to himself. "You look nice," the blonde complimented softly. "Thanks." "I'm still waiting for an answer you know," the blonde said cheekily and spun around once. Sasuke scowled and glanced up at his companion (he had previously been glaring at the floor), finding himself staring once more. Naruto's smile grew to impossible sizes. "The great Uchiha Sasuke is speechless!" he crowed happily. Sasuke grit his teeth and blushed, unable to simply say "You look amazing" or "Yeah, you look good too". Then he somehow, by some stretch of fate, managed to find his mouth in the vast numb pool of his mind while Naruto appeared to be engaged in some sort of victory dance.

"...Stunning..."

"Huh?" Naruto paused, half-way in a fist pump and blue eyes trained on Sasuke's onyx orbs. The raven's blush deepened. "I said you look stunning," he said louder with downcast eyes. _Why the fuck would you tell another guy that Uchiha? Your closest friend too! Stupid, stupid, stupid! _"...Thanks." Sasuke looked up and saw Naruto's face was pink as well, a bit of a darker hue since the smaller boy was tanner than himself, his blue eyes darting around in his head and never lingering on a single spot for more than a few seconds and leaning back on his left leg nervously. "Ah yes, I think these will fit quite nicely!" the chipper voice broke the awkward silence between the two boys and was soon followed by the owner of the voice, a different woman with black hair chopped short into a pixie cut and hazel brown eyes, wearing grey jeans and a green tank-top, holding a pair of new wooden getas in front of her proudly. "Here you go sweetie, give these a go," she said and set the sandals in front of Naruto. The blonde stepped into the getas confidentially, beginning to walk towards Sasuke and soon (not even three steps into an even stride) was toppling forward into a heap on the floor. Sasuke snickered and the blonde glared half-heartedly at him.

"What's so funny?" Naruto demanded and stood on wobbly legs. "The fact that you can't walk on your own two legs in gets, _dobe,_" the raven said smugly and tried not to laugh out loud as Naruto fell again, the image of the graceful angel gone from his mind and an urge to clutch his stomach and roll on the floor replacing his every thought. Twenty minutes passed and finally Naruto got the hang of walking in his wooden sandals by walking to Sasuke and back to where he started (the pixie-haired woman had left to attend other last-minute costumers) multiple times, and in that time managed to walk with "grace", or in Sasuke's opinion, Naruto's usual clumsiness. The blonde turned again to walk back to Sasuke, who was leaning against a clothes rack and watching the fox boy carefully. As he reached the raven and began to grin, Naruto's foot caught on a stray robe on the floor and with a yell, lunged forward and knocked his head into Sasuke's chest, his momentum throwing both of them to the ground. "What the hell dumbass?" Sasuke hissed and opened his eyes to find himself VERY aware of how close Naruto's face was to his own.

"I tripped teme...sorry?"

Naruto peered at Sasuke and began to grin again. "What?" Sasuke snapped, frustrated at his current position and conscious of the pressure on his groin. "Ah, I never get to see you like this. It's interesting." Naruto smiled openly and stepped off of Sasuke's hips, and the comfortable weight lifted off of Sasuke's lower region, to which he immediately began to think of Guy and Lee training to push down his "problem". _Stop it!_ he commanded himself and stood, glaring at Naruto, who was chuckling smugly back and dusting off his kimono. _You're a guy. He's a...him. Not a her. You shouldn't be thinking like that! _"Sore loser?" Naruto asked as the two picked their way past bickering couples and whining children to the front counter. "You tripped and fell. That is hardly a victory." "You should have been expecting it!" "You should know how to walk." "Bastard." "Dumbass." they bickered even as Sasuke paid for their outfits and set their old ones on the counter to be held by the shop until the next day and exited the store, then Naruto promptly dropped the argument and gazed around in wonder. "Wow..." he breathed out. Sasuke looked about as well, a pang running through his heart at the familiar sight and sorrow coursing in his veins, but as he noticed Naruto's smaller head turning rapidly he felt a new emotion rise within him. Sasuke looked down at his blonde friend, whose blue-fire eyes were alight with the glow of the candles and lanterns that adorned the streets and walls of Konoha. _...I think...I can move on, _the raven thought and spared a glance at the moonless sky before returning to his shockingly beautiful friend's face. And in the moment Sasuke didn't even care that he had just thought that about Naruto. Because...

_I can live my own life if I want to._


	3. New Moon

New Moon

* * *

Sasuke strolled behind a skipping Naruto as he was lead from store to store, his blonde friend gasping and admiring the things that Sasuke found rather silly and pointless, but still indulged the blonde his time to have fun. Eventually, though, Naruto would have to want to take part in something that Sasuke would find no interest in; like a ticking time bomb, the raven was just waiting for Naruto to explode into his usual mischievous self and while they passed small carts carrying pieces of pottery or lights, the fox child would comment on them to the owner of the possessions, and while most smiled back and thanked him, some merely glared or spat in his direction before turning their wares away from the blonde's view. Sasuke made a game out of it: guessing which occurrence would happen next. So far he was five for sixteen; five people were actually kind to Naruto. The blonde didn't seem fazed by it, and Sasuke assumed the shop-keepers were being like this because Naruto had pulled a prank on them in the past and thus didn't linger on it. "Hey, hey Sasuke! Let's go play that!" Naruto shouted on tugged on Sasuke's kimono sleeve, pointing to a stand where there were a series of stuffed duck toys lined up on a shelf. Groaning inwardly (and smiling as well) Sasuke allowed himself to be dragged along while rolling his eyes at Naruto's childish behavior and leaned against a pole that supported a cloth roof over the attraction. "What'll it be kid?" a burly man asked from behind the counter to Naruto, who grinned and replied "One round please." "Sure thing."

Naruto paid the amount needed to participate and received five small balls in return. "Now this is simple," the man explained. "Just knock over all five ducks in fifteen seconds and you get a prize." Naruto shot a sly grin over his shoulder in Sasuke's general direction, then turned back to the man. Sasuke hid a snort of his own while the man seemed completely oblivious to what he and Naruto had been trained to do since they were seven. "Ready?" he said and held his finger over a small red button. Naruto nodded and leaned back slightly, his left hand holding two of the white balls and his right tilted back to throw over-hand. "Go!" eight seconds in and all five ducks were knocked to the floor, their bright yellow felt covers dirtied by the dust on the green mat. Naruto cheered and leaped into the air while the stand operator stared at the fallen toys in shock, mouth gaping, while Sasuke released a breath and smirked, closing his eyes and listening to Naruto's shouts. "So, did I win?" he heard the blonde ask innocently. "Wha…how…" Sasuke pushed himself off of the pole he had been leaning again and went to stand behind Naruto. Fixing an infamous Uchiha glare at the man, he silently promised great harm if the man didn't give whatever it was that Naruto wanted over to the blonde and thus making him shut up. Complying, a stuffed toy orange fox was shoved into Naruto's arms.

Silence.

Immediately the whiskered boy fell silent and stared at it, eyes blank and mouth parted in a silent "o". Sasuke peered over his shoulder. "Something wrong dobe?" he asked and poked a finger at the object in the blonde's arms. "Eh...oh, yeah, it's fine bastard!" Naruto turned and stared at Sasuke's coal black eyes, a challenge rising in his own sky blue orbs, and yet Sasuke detected something was not right with his friend, and he needed to know what. "Oi," he addressed the game manager, who was busy resetting the ducks on their shelf. "Eh? What do ya want?" he grumbled. "Is there anything significant about that toy you gave him?" "Oh...uh, I think it's based off the Kyuubi no kitsune or somethin'. I dunno for sure." Sasuke turned and saw Naruto glaring at the toy he held. "Uh..." Sasuke felt awkward (which was a rarity unto itself) as he watched Naruto put such anger and hatred at a stuffed animal. "Dobe...want to go get some ramen?" even though the thought disgusted the raven and he'd much rather dig rusty nails into the palms of his hands, Naruto seemed to be extremely pissed off at something the fox toy represented in his past and it unnerved him. Naruto looked up and for a second Sasuke swore he saw crimson red flash around his pupils, but then he passed it off as imaginary when he gazed into the furious depths and saw nothing but cobalt blue. "Yeah, okay." Naruto clutched his fist around the fox's neck as Sasuke went to walk in front of him, leading the blonde away from the main part of the festival to Naruto's favorite ramen stand: Ichiraku's. Again, the mere smell of the food made Sasuke gag inside, but he didn't want to spend his first festival since the clan massacre with a malevolent teammate who seemed bent on eventually ripping a toy to shreds, so it had better have been damn worth it. _What the hell happened to Naruto as a kid? _Sasuke wondered as Naruto scuffled along silently behind him, his getas clomping against the dirt path and a murderous aura surrounding him. And now that he thought about it, Sasuke didn't know much about Naruto other than he was an orphan since birth, and was an annoying little furball who always managed to break through Sasuke's "perfect" composure.

"Oi, Naruto-kun!" a warm voice greeted as the duo stepped inside the cloth strips seperating Ichiraku's from the road. "Hey old man," Naruto replied and plopped down on a stool while dropping his prize carelessly on the floor. Sasuke sat to the blonde's right, glaring at the wooden counter before him and trying extremely hard not to throw up. "I see you brought your friend with you," the ramen man said and began boiling noodles; he already knew what Naruto wanted and assumed Sasuke would want the same. A stupid thought in Sasuke's opinion but hey, beggars can't be choosers when your best friend wants to murder everything in sight. "Yeah, I guess he finally admits ramen is the best invention since the color orange," Naruto said lightly and punched Sasuke in the arm. The raven turned his head slowly and fixed his stare on Naruto in response. "Orange was not invented by humans, _dobe. _And no, ramen is still disgusting and unhealthy," he replied evenly before turning back to watch the water simmer and boil in its pot. The man chuckled and set two pairs of chopsticks in front of them. "You'll come around kid. By the way Naruto-kun, where's the rest of your team? Normally you drag them in here everyday. Not that I'm complaining, I could use all the costumers I can get at the moment." "Yeah old man, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan left because SOMEONE had to spend an hour and a half trying to style his duck-ass hair in the bathroom," Naruto muttered and shot a look to his right. Sasuke snorted. "It is not a duck's ass." "Yeah it is! The way it spikes up in the back totally looks like a duck ass!" "And the scars on your cheeks make you look like a cat," Sasuke retorted.

"No, they make me look badass." "They make you look like you got into a freak accident with Wolverine." "They could be battle-scars!" "From what battle? Last I checked, the only _battles _you have been in have been with me, and you lose every time," Sasuke smirked when Naruto closed his mouth and glared at him. "Shut up teme, I'm just waiting for the right time to kick your ass!" Naruto muttered and grinned when the ramen-guy (Sasuke refused to find out the man's name lest he become on better terms with him) placed two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them. "Thanks!" he said and broke his chopsticks, digging into the food ravenously while Sasuke poked the noodles around with his own chopsticks disdainfully, the greasy smell wafting over his nose and choking him. "C'mon bastard, you're the one who suggested going here. The least you could do is actually eat the food." "Hn," Sasuke replied and picked a few noodles up before placing them tenderly in his mouth, the greasy smell from earlier being transformed into taste and rolling over Sasuke's tongue as he attempted to swallow. _Kami help me! _the Uchiha silently wailed as he managed to shove the noodles down his throat. Whenever Naruto came here, taking Team 7 with him, Sasuke always managed to hide his bowl or dump the contents into the trash can that was conveniently by his side however, now both Naruto and the ramen-man were watching him eagerly and there was no savior in sight to help Sasuke out of this predicament.

Grimacing, Sasuke managed to nod at Naruto who whooped and continued to eat wolfishly. The man came in front of Sasuke and bent in front of him whispering, "I'll take it off your hands for ya and give it to him," he said, jerking his thumb towards Naruto. "I can tell you don't really like it." Sasuke nodded his appreciation since his tongue refused to work and the man secretly swiped the bowl off the counter, turning in the same motion and placing it in front of Naruto. "Thanks old man!" the blonde said cheerfully, not even noticing the absence of Sasuke's portion. "Welcome," the man replied carelessly and swept Naruto's original bowl away and turning to wash it. Sasuke bent back to look at Naruto's abandoned toy, then looked back at the blonde who had his eyes closed happily while he ate. Closing his eyes, Sasuke wondered if there was anything tonight that would set him off like the fox had to Naruto, and shivered to think if Itachi came here just to mock him. Pushing the morbid thought away, the raven leaned his back against the counter and looked past the cloth strips at the shadowy figures that walked past, listening to the low murmurs of conversation coming from the other side and Naruto's loud slurps. "Ah," the blonde exclaimed contently. "Only two? I'm shocked Naruto-kun. Considering your record is fourteen, this is a slight disappointment," the man laughed and Sasuke heard him take the other bowl away. "Yeah, well, I'm not that hungry at the moment so..." There was a clink of coins against wood. "Nah Naruto-kun, tonight's on me, in honor of a new spring." "Really old man? Thanks!" a chuckle and then a tug on Sasuke's left sleeve. "Let's go teme," Naruto said and scooted off of his chair, bending to pick up the fox and watching the raven as he hopped off gracefully, his getas clonking on the floor.

"So what do you want to do now?" Sasuke asked as they made their way back into the flow of bodies that were making their way to the village center, again. "Can we go up to Hokage Mountain? There's always been something I've wanted to do up there during this festival," Naruto asked and glanced up at the spot in question, the newest addition of Lady Tsunade's head still awaiting to be carved into the hillside. Confused, Sasuke agreed and followed Naruto, who got side-tracked at some points to look around some small stores and buying things for Sakura or himself, while eventually convincing Sasuke to purchase a small carving of a hawk in flight that the Uchiha did indeed admire but refused to show it. How Naruto noticed was beyond the raven, but they still steadily wound their way through thinning crowds and climbed the mountain quickly until Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on a spike of the Fourth Hokage's hair, gazing out on the village below. "I've always seen the village like this on this night from my apartment," Naruto murmured and leaned back on his elbows. Sasuke looked down on the lounging blonde. "You've stayed in your apartment every year?" he asked and tried to get the blonde to focus on him. But Naruto insisted on keeping his eyes locked on the starry, moonless sky. "I told you. The villagers don't like it when I'm outside at all, and if I'm there ruining their night then bad things woulda happened, yeah?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow above his coal eye. "But why?" he asked. "Not important teme. Now I can do what I wanted to." Naruto pulled out a white candle with gold swirls embedded on the wax and a match box. Gently scrapping a match, it caught on fire and he placed the stick against the wick that stood out against the pristine color of the candle. Befuddled, Sasuke watched as the orange, red, and yellow caught on the black yarn and illuminated Naruto's face and casted shadows across the blonde's eyes, giving his blue eyes a darker hue that Sasuke didn't like. Naruto stared off into the space over the flame, then shut his eyes with both his fists clutched around the candle. His mouth moved softly, barely whispered words leaving his lips that Sasuke couldn't understand. The raven watched Naruto apparently, well, _pray,_ but the reason why escaped his mind. Not wanting to disturb his friend, the Uchiha turned back to gazing at the village, which twinkled like the light of many stars and was indeed dazzling. The sight lulled Sasuke's mind into drifting to thoughts of Naruto, and how the blonde was an enigma in his own way, almost surpassing his own mysteriousness. How Sasuke knew almost NOTHING about him while everyone knew of the one thing that seemed to define his own life.

The sound of a breath being exhaled and the smell of smoke drove Sasuke out of his thoughts and he looked to Naruto, who was staring at the wispy trails of grey that floating off the burnt wick. The raven allowed his friend a few moments of silence, and then..."So...mind telling me what that was about?" he asked. Naruto looked to the raven and smiled dimly. "I...well...you know how I never knew my parents, yeah? Well, I've always wanted to go to this festival since I was little but the adults never let me. And I always wondered what having parents is like so...I heard that taking a candle somewhere private and making a wish let's you see the dead." Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes but could tell Naruto was serious. Besides, he'd tried that already, and obviously it hadn't worked, so he let Naruto have his fantasy. But there was one thing bothering him..."Why won't the adults let you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged and hugged his legs close to his chest. "No biggie teme." "It seems important since almost every adult in town hates you." Naruto released a sigh and shook his head, blonde hair moving with him. "Forget it, okay?!" Sasuke frowned and leaned over to poke the blonde in the forehead like his brother used to do. "Naruto, you will tell me what is going on," Sasuke warned and stared into his friend's eyes, who seemed to shrink away from the raven's presence. "But not now. I want to know what you're going on about though..."

Naruto shuddered and Sasuke couldn't tell if it was because he was cold or if he was intimidated by him, not that the fox boy would ever admit to being scared. Of Sasuke. Never would that happen. "Hah. Whatever bastard." Naruto shoved his shoulder forward to lightly shove into Sasuke's, effectively pushing the Uchiha away and settling into the long grass that surrounded the very top of Hokage Mountain. "Thanks for coming with me tonight Sasuke," Naruto murmured and Sasuke heard the faintest trace of sleep in his somehow soft and yet strong voice. "...Yeah, you're welcome dobe." "Ne...Sasuke?" "Yes?" Sasuke asked without looking away from the village, and he could have sworn that even from here he saw Sakura's bubblegum pink hair floating among the candles that adorned the land below like jewels. "What...do you think happens to...dead people?" "Excuse me?" "What happens to dead people when they, you know...die." "I dunno." "Do you think they watch us?" Sasuke lay back with Naruto to look at the black sky. "I think...they go wherever they want to." "Oh, okay.." Sasuke looked to his left, where Naruto's eyes slowly fell shut. Light breathing brushed the grass blades that hovered above the blonde's face and Sasuke guessed this is where Naruto was going to sleep for the night. And since he too was a bit tired from his night with Naruto, he too gently shut his own eyes and succumbed to slumber.

_You're still so oblivious to loss Naruto..but there's something about pain that you know more about than myself...why?_


	4. Cresent Moon

Crescent moon

* * *

A warm breeze fluttered against Sasuke's cheeks, and for a moment he could imagine being in his bed at home with his mother sitting at his side, brushing his bangs out of his face and singing softly to him while he slept. The memory made Sasuke want to smile; in fact, he could believe it was actually happening except for one thing: the brush of grass against his nose and the rush of wind above his head, and unless his house had a draft and was growing a mini-forest in his room, it was all a dream. The raven lazily blinked his eyes open to a startling rosy and purple sky that was devoid of any clouds and a sun that was gently rising in the east like a sailboat drifting in the sea. Looking down at his chest, he found he was still dressed in the blue and black kimono from last night's festival and by his feet lay his getas, seemingly kicked off in the night. _Last night..._what did Naruto mean by asking him that sort of question? _"What do you think happens to people who die?" _Sasuke couldn't answer that. He _wouldn't _answer that, because he refused to think about it. Where his mother, father, and clan mates were. It was better, in his opinion, to let the dead remain dead and to try and do what they would want you to do, and in Sasuke's case (as he firmly believed) it was to avenge them by killing Itachi.

But what if that wasn't what they wanted?

Sasuke sat up and felt his spine groan with the effort, looking down at the village, now looking average and missing the magic it had possessed the night before. Perhaps his mother and father would want him to be the ninja they had taught him to be, devoid of the revenge that already consumed him like a raging fire. He could be the caring, strong person his mother wanted him to be. _Mother..._ Sasuke sucked in a deep breath and watched the sun rise slowly, casting its rays over Konoha and not yet touching the Hokage's faces, where Sasuke currently sat. A small sigh off the to the Uchiha's right reminded him that he was not alone up here, and why would he be? He never came up here on his own anyways. Trying to shake his thoughts out of his head, he turned to see a small orange and black huddle amongst the long, waving strands of grass, blonde hair sticking up in every direction at the tip of the heap. With an exasperated release of breath, Sasuke debated if he should wake his disheveled companion or simply let him be for a few more hours. Or just leave him. Sasuke was trying to go through with his third option...but he just couldn't bring himself to leave the blonde's side.

Another sigh and Naruto rolled over, his eyes shut and his breathing stirring the surrounding grass while his feet kicked about slightly as he slept. Sasuke snorted and picked at the foliage surrounding them, deciding that if he wasn't going to leave Naruto, he'd just wait instead. Taking three strands, he began to braid and knot them into an intricate loop absentmindedly while staring at the plush fox Naruto had flung forward until it was balancing on the very tip of the Fourth Hokage's hair, leaning precariously over the edge and swaying in the wind. Why was Naruto so adverse to his prize, Sasuke didn't understand. Was he upset at the game? It didn't seem right, considering how happy he was to play it in the first place. But wait, the man said it was based off the Kyuubi or something, right?..._Perhaps the Kyuubi killed his parents. _It was a likely choice; after all, Sasuke remembered Itachi telling him of when the Kyuubi attacked, and how his father had been injured gravely during the event and his mother tended to him for days on end without even stopping to eat. He could have easily lost his father without getting to know him that day. "Oi, it's the Uchiha kid and the brat." Sasuke turned to the origin of the voice to see the white-haired Sannin, Jiraiya, advancing towards them from the stairway that spiraled up to this point of the mountain. "Jiraiya-sama," Sasuke replied respectfully without showing he was annoyed at being referred to as the "Uchiha kid". "Haven't seen you around for awhile. Been busy training?" Jiraiya said and plopped down on the other side of Naruto, his humor filled black eyes watching Sasuke curiously as he waited for a response. "Sort of." "Oh really? Been learning any new techniques?" "You could say that." "How about taijutsu? I hear that's probably your weakest point." Sasuke grimaced at that rumor (which was true, he admitted). "Not really. And it isn't my weakest point." "You're not much of a talker are you?" "Not particularly." Jiraiya somehow found the statement funny and chuckled, looking out over the village. "You remind me of a friend I had one time."

"Who?" Sasuke asked, curious. Jiraiya's eyes darkened and his shoulders slumped. "Orochimaru," the frog sage replied. Sasuke arched an eyebrow in confusion. "How do I remind you of that traitor?" he said, somewhat hurt that he could be compared to a creep like that. Jiraiya snorted and glanced at the raven. "Before he left, anyway. He was always so quiet, never talked much, the freak. But he took training very seriously, and it always pissed me off at how he was always seemingly slightly better than me. Sort of reminds me of you two." his head dipped to indicate the sleeping Naruto. "So you're saying I'm a creepy bastard who's obsessed with snakes?" Sasuke replied scathingly. Jiraiya flat out laughed at that. "Of course not kid," he barked out. "You just tend to be more reserved, that's all. Now this kid here-" the Sannin poked Naruto's cheek and grinned. "This kid won't shut up. Once you get him going, he won't stop. Sort of like his mother..." "You knew Naruto's mother?" Sasuke gasped out, unable to help himself and grimaced at the outburst. Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock at his own statement. "It's nothing," he said quickly. "But Naruto won't even talk about them. And it's sort of hard to piss him off without any material," Sasuke argued and tried to lean over Naruto's body to get in Jiraiya's face. "That's because Naruto doesn't know who they are himself," the frog sage replied curtly. "And he isn't supposed to find out any time yet." "But why? What did they do that was so bad?" "They didn't do anything _bad, _they're village heroes. It's for Naruto's own safety." Sasuke shut up and sat back, looking to the now violet-blue sky, which now had thin wisps of clouds gathering around.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to push the subject," Sasuke eventually said after a strained period of silence. Jiraiya chuckled darkly and peered over at the stoic Uchiha. "It's fine kid. You're concerned about your friend is all." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I hardly consider that idiot a friend." the Sannin laughed again. "I see the way you look at him boy. You care, and that's fine. You don't have to keep those emotions all locked up you know. It's fine to let them out and admit you care about people." Naruto shifted again between them and muttered a word that sounded suspiciously like "pervert". Jiraiya shook his head and smiled. Sasuke, meanwhile, was busy trying to wrap his mind around the concept of being more open to people. How was that even POSSIBLE for someone like himself? "Also, you didn't make a bad choice for a best friend in this runt. He needs you as much as you need him." the raven's eyes widened at the statement. "Excuse me?" he murmured, not sure if he heard the frog sage right. "C'mon, admit it kid. You need Naruto." Jiraiya's eyes twinkled in amusement that Sasuke did not take part in. At all. "I need no-one," he ground out through clenched teeth while trying extremely hard to keep his temper in check. "Hah! Whatever you say, Uchiha," Jiraiya chuckled and stood up, brushing dirt and grass off of his pants. "I gotta run. Supposedly there's a group of foreign women coming to town early today and they need someone to show them the ropes." he winked. "Besides, I only came up here 'cause I sensed the brat's chakra, so I'm sure you two will be fine on your own." Sasuke nodded and rolled his eyes at the previous statement. "See you around, Sasuke. Let's hope you come to, ne?" and in a poof of smoke, the Sannin was gone.

Sasuke's mind was reeling from the confusing conversation. He _needs _Naruto? Hah! That was the most ridiculous thing the Uchiha had ever heard, and after spending most of his childhood around Naruto, that was a very far stretch of the imagination, but apparently the blonde's sensei had broken the record drastically. Naruto groaned in his sleep, a pained sound, and Sasuke looked over in surprise to see Naruto curled in on himself, clutching at his stomach and squirming in discomfort. His eyebrows were clenched close over his eyes and he moaned again, the sound grating on Sasuke's ears and pushing against his brain. Reaching out with a pale hand, the raven touched Naruto's shoulder and shook him gently. "Oi, Naruto." No movement. Sasuke scowled and shook harder. "Dobe, wake up! You're having a bad dream!" Cobalt blue eyes snapped open wide and scared. Sasuke leaned back as the blonde blinked and slowly took his hands away from his stomach, breathing deeply and apparently trying to calm himself down. "..." Naruto didn't say anything, and Sasuke began to worry as a pregnant silence filled the air around them, and the wind that gusted from in front of the village suddenly picked up and flung the plush fox backward at the two, landing in Sasuke's lap with a soft thump. "Dobe?" he asked softly and lightly punched the blonde's shoulder. Naruto sat up and stared at the ground in front of him. "Naruto." the blonde's mess of blonde hair waved in the wind, the only movement on the mountain. "Oi, stop ignoring me!" Sasuke shouted and felt something drop into his stomach when Naruto continued to remain silent. Crawling to crouch in front of Naruto, Sasuke peered into Naruto's blue eyes, expecting some sort of loud reaction for intruding the blonde's personal space.

Except they weren't blue.

Deep red surrounded Naruto's pupils, crimson red, and specks of blue fluttered in their depths like brilliant shards of glass, and a malevolence Sasuke didn't think Naruto- hell, even _Itachi_, was ever capable of filled the blonde's eyes. Sasuke suppressed a gasp and cautiously activated his Sharnigan for the first time since the Wave Country mission*, monitoring Naruto's movements and chakra carefully. "Naruto?" he whispered, suddenly afraid. The fox that had fallen into his lap toppled into the grass in between the two boys, and Naruto managed to catch sight of it. His crimson eyes widened drastically and his mouth opened and closed, trying to speak but no words were escaping. Sasuke's own red eyes narrowed and suddenly Naruto's eyes blinked back to sky blue, any trace of the evil color from before gone and the blonde looked up, startled, into Sasuke's face. "Teme, what are you staring at?" Naruto demanded and sat up straight. He tilted his head in confusion. "And what's with the sharnigan?" Sasuke numbly knelt there, confused at Naruto's sudden change in behavior and appearance. "..Nothing," he managed to mutter and returned to his place beside Naruto, standing up and stretching his legs while retrieving his getas. "Okay? Well what were you doing?" Naruto asked and apparently followed suit judging from the swish of clothing and grass behind Sasuke. "Forget it," the raven snapped and turned while Naruto bent down to pick his own wooden sandals off the ground. "Okay, okay, calm down," the fox boy muttered. _Naruto, what the hell is going on with you?_

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Naruto and Sasuke, now dressed in their normal attire and their kimonos wrapped neatly (well, neatly for Sasuke, and tossed leisurely for Naruto) around their arms as they made their way down a road that eventually split to lead to their respective places of residence. "Ne, Sasuke, isn't that Sakura-chan down there?" Naruto asked and pointed to a speck of pink hair that weaved among the throng of people who were shopping early in the morning. "Hn," he replied, not feeling up to arguing or fighting with Naruto as he was sure this conversation would turn to. His mind was too distracted by what had happened with Naruto earlier anyways. Naruto leaned forward as they walked, assessing the sight before him, and then grinned. Raising his hand in a wave, he shouted "Sakura-chan!" and waved again. _Great. Just what I need right now..._Sasuke thought begrudgingly and trudged behind Naruto as the blonde ran forward to greet the rosette kunochi. "Ah! Naruto, Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei was just looking for you two. We have to go to a mission briefing!" Sakura said happily as she approached, her arms clasped behind her back innocently and emerald eyes sparkling. Naruto whooped and Sasuke nodded, still not up for talking and instead let his two teammates lead the way to the Hokage tower while he stared at the blonde's back, pondering. _Is it some type of Kekkai Genkai? But I thought the Uzumakis specialized in seals...maybe it's something no-one ever bothered to __investigate. _Muttering under his breath, Sasuke completely ignored Kakashi as he appeared in a poof of air in front of the trio with his ever present "Come Come Paradise" clasped in his right hand, and barely listened as the group made their way to the Hokage's office.

As they neared the door however, loud shouts and bangs could be heard from the other side of the wall, and Sasuke managed to see Naruto roll his eyes as they turned a corner and mutter "What happened to the old hag this time..." well, they soon found out as the Hokage's medical assistant Shizune burst from the room with stacks of papers clutched to her chest and eyes wide while a shriek of "And get me more sake!" followed quickly. Kakashi stuck his head through the doorway while Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke stepped in behind the Jounin. "Hello, Hokage-sama," the wolf said and Sasuke could imagine a grin spreading under that damned mask of his. "What is it," Tsuande's voice grumbled from the room and Team 7 took that as their cue to step inside the destroyed office, where bookshelves and books lay overturned into a massive heap, a couch was split into two and one half jutted out of the wall, and the Hokage's desk had a massive dent in it, probably from a fist that had struck it in frustration. The blonde Sannin was sitting with her head propped up by her arm behind the mangled table, eyes half-lidded and heavy circles underlining them, her glare directed at Kakashi. "You had a mission for us?" he said politely and Tsuande grunted in response. "Yes. And it is rather important. An A rank mission-" "Woah Baa-chan! Are you seriously giving us an A-rank mission?!" Naruto interrupted and leaned around Kakashi, grinning. Tsunade did not return the smile. "Shut up brat, I'm giving you a mission briefing." "But-ow!" Sasuke quickly smacked his fist against the back of Naruto's head and the blonde fixed his own glare on him.

"Be quiet dobe." "Don't _call me _that!" "I will call you what I want to, now shut up." "Hey...!" "Both of you, hush!" Sakura whispered from Naruto's other side and fixed a rare glare on both Naruto _and _Sasuke, again a very very rare thing that Sasuke was surprised the kunochi was capable of. "Anyways...you are to escort a recently captured missing-nin to Suna, and hand him over to the Jounin there. You leave immediately." Kakashi nodded and looked back at the trio behind him. "Go get your things," he ordered and the three nodded, running off. Sakura left them first, saying to meet her back in front of the Tower and glaring solely at Naruto now, who was infamous for his ability to get lost and be late. "Sure thing Sakura-chan!" Naruto had replied with a two-fingered salute before sprinting away to his own apartment, leaving Sasuke in a cloud of dust and walking irritably back to his own home.

And now the longest time of Sasuke's life was about to begin.

* * *

*When I was writing this I decided not to include the Itachi/Kyuubi arc for the sake of the SasuNaru pairing :3


	5. First Quarter Moon

First quarter moon

* * *

An hour and a half later and Sasuke was leaning against a nearby telephone pole, waiting for his other two teammates to arrive with his own pack slung over his shoulder carelessly, gazing into the sinking sun in the sky with nothing but his own thoughts (and nearby sulking fangirls) for company. _Where are they? _He thought and cast his eyes to the right and left paths that met before him, expecting to see Naruto tearing down the road or Sakura skipping merrily, but instead saw nothing but the usual bustle of villagers in the evening. Not even Kakashi had arrived yet...but that was to be expected, of course. "Shitty Jounin..." he muttered under his breath and returned to watching the sun sink slowly under the treetops, dying the sky a vast array of oranges and reds and yellows that made Sasuke think of Naruto. And how annoyed he was at how none of them were there. Growling, the raven slammed his fist against the wood behind him absentmindedly and shut his eyes, trying not to think about how pissed off he was at the moment, because he certainly did not want to take it all out on Naruto. _Wait...what? _Sasuke didn't get a chance to ponder what he had just thought as said blonde did indeed come running from his right and Sakura didn't skip, but rather glided, from his left. The two stopped on either side of the Uchiha with guilty smiles plastered on their faces, but Naruto's was more sarcastic than Sakura's. "Sorry," the rosette apologized sheepishly and bowed, her tan traveling pack clasped between her hands and brushing the ground as she moved. "My parents made me stay for dinner." Naruto's excuse was less believable.

"I was...er...training with Lee really quick."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde, who scratched the back of his head nervously under the raven's scrutinizing glare. "You never trained with him before," he stated lowly and began to advance on Naruto, who seemed to only get more enjoyment out of making Sasuke release all the anger he had worked _so hard _to keep in. "Yeah, well, guess I needed a change of scenery ne?" Naruto asked and grinned again, then the smile was wiped clean by whatever emotion he found on Sasuke's face. And from the way Sasuke was feeling at being forced to wait, _alone_, with his insane "fan club" for an _hour and a half _(ridiculous!) for his teammates to show up (even if one of them had a legitimate excuse) Naruto had better feel as guilty as he looked. "A change of scenery?" Sasuke snarled quietly and his hands clasped around Naruto's throat. "A change of scenery?! You are such an _idiot! _Did you honestly think I would believe that?!" He yelled louder and shook Naruto roughly. "S-Sasuke-kun! Calm down!" Sakura said from behind the two boys and a footstep signaled the rosette tried to step forward and a small hand was placed on Sasuke's shoulder in restraint, but Naruto waved her off. "It's fine...Sakura-chan," the blonde gasped out and turned his obnoxious gaze to Sasuke, blue eyes narrowed in response to Sasuke's wide-eyed glare. "Now now, Sasuke...we need Naruto for this mission, ne?" Kakashi appeared in his standard poof of smoke before the trio, but Sasuke refused to relinquish Naruto from his grasp. "Sasuke..." the Jounin warned and the raven noticed he was missing the typical Come Come Paradise from his hands. Meaning: whoever they were escorting meant serious business. His fingers released slowly, and as he just noticed, his sharnigan as well, and Naruto staggered back while still grinning that bright but stupid grin at the Uchiha. Sasuke huffed and turned, waiting to go inside of the Hokage Tower and retrieve whomever they were supposed to be escorting to Suna. But that wasn't what happened, much to his dismay. "Stay here kids, I'll be back," Kakashi said lazily and with a careless wave over his shoulder he sauntered off to the tower, hands in pockets and, as Sasuke just noticed, Pakkun trailing behind the Jounin closely.

_No! _Sasuke yelled in his head and imagined dropping to his knees. _Don't leave me alone with this BAKA! _"Hah, Sasuke got in trouble," Naruto sang out and bounced around merrily, his bright orange jacket flashing in the fading sun. Sakura hit the blonde roughly and pretended to scold him, yelling at him to shut up and that she hates him; but Sasuke saw the twinkle in her eyes that said otherwise. _Huh...? _The sight confused the Uchiha. Didn't she look at himself like that? That adoring glow in her eyes was unmistakable...No way. The idiot actually got Sakura to like him. The realization felt odd in Sasuke's head. After all, this entire time Sakura had dotted over _him, _not Naruto, and while she certainly wasn't chasing after the blonde with puppy-dog eyes it was clear from the way she now held herself tall and yet shy around Naruto that there was some level of attraction in her towards him. And strangely, Sasuke felt..._threatened. _And not by Naruto. _Here we go again, _he thought with a sigh and began the mental lecture that seemed to crop up a lot lately. _Naruto is a guy, and it's about time Sakura learned to leave me alone. So stop it and move on. _But Sasuke, despite scolding _himself (_which was weird enough) didn't want to move on. He watched the pair more closely and noticed how Sakura giggled when Naruto tried to push Sasuke over, then continued her physical abuse of the blonde as if she hadn't laughed. How she brushed her hair back frequently and watched the blonde with the intensity of a hawk. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her. "When is Kakashi going to get here..." he muttered under his breath and stared up at the sky, letting the breeze flutter through his hair and listening to the distant sounds of the village.

"Ne, teme, who do you think this missing-nin guy is?" Naruto asked suddenly and Sasuke peered down with one eye open to see Naruto watching him expectantly, meaning he wanted a reply. Sasuke shrugged and ignored the question. "See Naruto, Sasuke-kun doesn't want to talk right now!" "Aw come on, I just asked him a question-ow!" "Shut up you baka! Kakashi's coming back!" Sasuke looked down and saw that indeed Kakashi was approaching with a man following behind, Pakkun bringing up the rear with a rare snarl on his face. The man himself seemed to have been involved with many torture sessions to rival Ibiki; the right half of his face was scarred completely, the corner of that side of his mouth lifted into an eternal grimace and his eyes were two different colors, left one blue and right one brown, implying he had lost one of them in a battle. The other half of his head that wasn't disfigured was a deep tan and had a healthy amount of deep brown hair that was shoulder length and tied loosely into a ponytail and slung over the opposing shoulder. His clothing was simple, typical of Konoha prisoners; black shirt and chakra-restraining handcuffs, black ankle-length pants with shackles tied around his legs but giving him enough room to maneuver and walk, and standard black ninja-sandals. But what struck Sasuke's eye was the tattoo of the Whirlpool that adorned much of Konoha's typical shinobi wear on his left hand. It seemed to move and spin on the man's hand and entranced the raven, the red and black ink blending into one being. Then he shook his head and snapped out the trance, glancing to his left and right and seeing Naruto and Sakura watching the duo (trio) carefully as well; they didn't trust the man anymore than Sasuke did. They soon stopped in front of the genin though, and Kakashi gestured to the man behind him. "This is Angard," Kakashi said pleasantly, however Sasuke could almost feel the tenseness and coldness that seeped into the Jounin's voice. The man- Angard - seemed to smile, and his teeth were startling white in contrast to his grim appearance.

"As you three know, we are escorting him to Suna. I expect you three to be on your best behavior...Naruto." said blonde shouted in complaint but Kakashi turned his back on the noise, simply gesturing for the group to begin walking. Sighing, Sasuke slung his pack over his shoulder and decided to take up a position on Angard's left while Naruto went to his right, Sakura finishing up in the back with the company of Pakkun, who was still baring his fangs in a snarl at Angard's back. If the prisoner could hear the dog's soft growls, he ignored them and continued his steady pace behind Kakashi as he lead them all through Konoha. It was like a parade; people lined the streets and whispered amongst themselves, pointing and looking at each other at the man in the black with the horrible face. Sasuke scowled and attempted to block out the noise, until one particular line caught his attention. "In my opinion, it should be the demon brat who should be locked up in Suna. That guy is probably less evil than _he _is." Fighting the urge to turn to the voice, Sasuke wondered who in the world they were referring to. It couldn't possibly be himself or Sakura, right? He was almost revered as a god here (much to his discontent) and Sakura was too bubbly for anyone to hate (besides Sasuke, but now he simply tolerated her presence), and Kakashi was too respected to be talked about in such a manner. Angard was apparently the better person in the comparison, so that only left..._Naruto? _Sasuke questioned as they finally made their way through the main part of town and the village gates were in sight, the low sun caught between the two open wooden doors. _What does he have to do with demons? _Sasuke, confused, tried to peer around Angard at his blonde teammate, who was simply walking with his head held high and gaze firmly on the boundary in front of him with an intense stare.

"So, you're Sasuke Uchiha, hm?" Angard asked and Sasuke looked up to see him gazing at him with amusement in his mismatched eyes. "Yes," the raven replied curtly and promptly stood straight, refraining from looking at Naruto any more, eyes forward with a steely glare. Angard chuckled. "I've heard much about you," he said politely, his voice reminding Sasuke of his father's- when the man wasn't pissed off for some reason, of course. "I must say, your skills are impressive for someone your age. Quite the remarkable family you hail from." Sasuke nodded and refused to look to his right again, lest he begin to attack the man for bringing up his family. "If you ask me he's a bit of an overstatement," Naruto drawled from Angerd's other side and the blonde leaned around him to grin mischievously at Sasuke, who returned the gesture with a glare. Angard laughed again. "Ah, you must be Naruto Uzumaki," he said and turned his head to face Naruto. "You know my name?" the blonde gasped out in a near fangirl squeal and was heard bouncing on the tips of his feet. "You do have a bridge named after you, don't you?" "Yeah! Take that Sasuke-teme!" Sasuke shook his head and smirked at the ground. "Tch. You're still a dobe." "Shut up bastard!" Angard interrupted their bickering suddenly. "Aren't you also the Kyu-" "That subject's off-limits," Kakashi intervened and Sasuke saw the Jounin turn and fix a blank stare at Angard. "Ah, sorry. Didn't know I crossed a line," Angard said and Sasuke detected a smile in his statement. _What did he do that was so bad? He seems trustworthy enough. _"So, um, Angard-sama, where are you from?" Sakura asked from behind everyone as they passed through the village gates. Angard turned to look at the kunochi. "Just call me Angard," he began good-naturedly while they walked. "And...I actually hail from Fire Country. One of the smaller villages, and unfortunately I was hard pressed to find any decent shinobi training, but eventually my stepfather took me in as his student."

"Ah." From there on they traveled in silence for most of the night, Kakashi setting the pace at a brisk trot and sticking to the main dirt road, rarely turning other than to break up a petty argument between Sasuke and Naruto or a conversation between Team 7 and Angard, the excuse always being "There are enemies who could hear us." Sasuke rolled his eyes at that while Kakashi wasn't looking at returned his thoughts to what Angard had done to classify himself as a missing-nin. S-class, at that. _Kill off a village? Possible, but he doesn't seem like the type to do that...Maybe he kidnapped someone important and killed them or..._"Oi, Sasuke, didn't you hear Kakashi-sensei? We're stopping for now!" Sasuke looked up from gazing at his feet to meet Naruto's narrowed blue gaze, and _again _there was that crimson glint that appeared for mere seconds before disappearing again! Sasuke resisted the urge to grip Naruto's chin and immerse himself in Naruto's eyes in search of the cause but refrained, simply nodding and stepping forward in front of Angard and Sakura (Pakkun had gone with Kakashi apparently to fetch firewood). Rolling his sleeping bag out of his pack, Sasuke carelessly flung the object to the ground and sat on it while Sakura followed suit and Naruto chained Angard to a nearby tree root. "Sorry," the blonde said as he wound a chain that was connected to Angard's shackles around a tree root that stuck up out of the ground. "Kakashi-sensei ordered me to." "It's alright kid," Angard said smoothly and brushed the ground underneath himself with his restrained hands. "I can understand why he would want to take caution." Naruto nodded and retreated to his own bag, pulling his own sleeping bag out and setting to making the arrangements perfect for his slumber.

"Angard," Sasuke said slowly. "What did you do that...set you on the S-class missing-nin list?" "Ah." Angard's features darkened and in the light of the barely present moon he seemed to appear almost eviler to the raven. "I'm surprised you've never heard of me," the brunette continued and leaned against the tree he was restrained to. "Actually, Angard-sa, er, Angard, I don't think any of the genin in Konoha know of you," Sakura put in. "Really now? That's strange. Well, I'm not inclined to tell you just yet." He winked and closed his eyes. "Aw, c'mon, please tell us," Naruto whined and leaned forward on his mat. "I'll tell you children later. For now your sensei is coming back, and I don't think he would be too pleased if I told you right out of the gate what I did." "Yes, your sensei wouldn't be too happy with that," Kakashi's voice spoke from the trees and the Jounin swiftly followed with an armful of sticks and decent sized branches, while Pakkun carried a bundle of twigs his mouth. The two set the wood into a pile in the middle of the camp and the wolf promptly set them ablaze, the crackling and sizzle of flame quickly filling the clearing and light dancing with the shadows that rimmed the area. There was a pregnant silence, then everyone universally decided it was time to sleep, even though they hadn't eaten yet. As Sasuke settled into his bedding, his gaze trained on Angard who was sitting with his eyes closed, his back pressed against a tree trunk. Then his eyes wandered to Naruto's green covered form, the only hint that he was the one in the sleeping bag being the tuft of blonde that stuck up at the very edge. _What did the villagers mean Naruto...why are you a "demon"? What's happened to you? _Sasuke thought lazily and somehow his dreams consisted of blood red, cobalt blue, and golden yellow dancing like fire in the night, and a laugh that sounded so familiar, Sasuke wondered how he couldn't place the noise.

Too bad he didn't know it was the laugh of the damned.

* * *

Sorry it took so long! I had writer's block and I could barely get anything done...by the way, Angard is just an OC of mine so...yeah, don't use him and stuff. Thanks for reading and until next time! :)


	6. Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon

* * *

Sasuke woke to the sound of shuffling to his left. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, the raven shifted his head to try and view the disturbance, only to find there was nothing there.

Wait.

There was nothing there, only a set of chains tied to a tree root..._Angard!_ Where was the S-class nin?! Scrambling, Sasuke sat up silently and twisted to wake Kakashi, who lay quietly to his right, but as he turned he saw the prisoner kneeling over Naruto with an almost sorrowful expression on his face, his left hand trailing through the blonde's hair like a caring parent would do to an upset child. Confused, because how in the hell did Angard escape in the first place?- and sort of weirded out by the fact that the prisoner was behaving like Naruto's _parent, _and that tattoo was spinning again and Sasuke's head began to ache..._Don't make a sound Uchiha, _he reminded himself and slowly sat back as if he were asleep and kept his eye on Angard, but mostly Naruto. "I'm sorry..." He heard Angard whisper. "I owed your mother...and I failed.." _He knows Naruto's mother? _Sasuke thought. _Everyone seems to know except Naruto and...well...most of everyone our age...but then again, only Jiraiya and Kakashi seemed to know so..._

There was silence for a while and in that time Sasuke began to believe that Angard had perhaps run off (the logical thing to do if you were a prisoner freed of chains) but eventually heard the man continue to murmur. "You must've suffered...gods, I wish I could have helped you. But I was...preoccupied at the moment. I'm so sorry.." To Sasuke, the situation was just getting weirder and weirder and, oddly, he felt like he was intruding on a private moment meant to only include Angard and apparently, Naruto. "It seems you made a good lot of friends though. But how would I know? I've only met your teammates..." Angard chuckled. "Just like your mother wanted. But I must say, even though you have her eyes...your father, ha, you have his pretty boy charm." Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes at the pretty boy comment and only held back at Angard's next line.

"Naruto...my sister would probably be shaking with rage at the thought of what you've gone through, your father too...but I...I managed to come to Konoha just in time. You'll be safe with me in Suna." Sasuke surpressed a shocked gasp. Who did this man think he was?! Saying Naruto was _safe _with him?! He could protect Naruto just fine, thank you very much! Wait...what. That was...disturbing. Sasuke could hear Angard continue to speak but didn't bother listening in anymore as he pondered what the prisoner had already said. _"My sister would probably be shaking with rage..." _So Angard was related to Naruto's mother; making him the blonde's uncle? But how did he...did he do whatever he did to get closer to Naruto on _purpose? _What was going on, anyway...Besides, this was getting too strange for even Sasuke's "genius" mind to handle...Rolling over, his eyelids grew heavy and weariness clouded his thinking, lulling the Uchiha into slumber once more...

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Sunlight poured onto Sasuke's face the next time his eyes fluttered open, along with the sound of sizzling food and the scent of bacon. Sitting up lazily, he looked to his left to see Angard in his shackles once more and restrained against his tree root, munching away on a granola bar with Sakura and Naruto crowded at his feet like it was storytime in school. Scowling, he turned and saw Kakashi bent over another fire with a small iron pan in his grasp. The Jounin glanced over when he felt Sasuke's gaze and seemed to smile- not that Sasuke could tell because of that damn mask. "Sleeping Beauty rises," the wolf commented happily with a wave. Sasuke's scowl deepened and he threw the covers of his sleeping bag off his body, rising to stride over to stand beside Kakashi. "When do we leave?" He demanded and saw eggs boiling slowly on the metal pan. "When we are ready. Save your energy Sasuke, we stop barely at all today!" Kakashi turned back to his cooking (or lack thereof; he was too busy watching Angard to pay any real attention) and Sasuke shrugged, not particularly bothered by that prospect since he wanted to get this all over with as soon as possible and get home, particularly with Naruto in tow.

But he couldn't be too picky...so after mulling everything over he decided that perhaps if prolonging the trip slightly meant keeping Naruto and taking him back to Konoha, he would take the chance. _Okay...Mother, Father, if you can hear me, please tell me what's going on! I'm supposed to hate this baka...what is happening to me? _Sasuke shook his head and turned away to roll up his sleeping bag and listening to Asgard talk to Sakura and Naruto who were listening with baited breath and silence for a change, a change Sasuke was most pleased with. "...So as my team and I are just about to leave the port, all of a sudden a group of missing-nin, like us mind you, show up demanding we give them the money..." Naruto leaned forward and Sasuke saw Sakura's eyes widened.

"'Give us the money!' They said. 'Or we'll...well, you know.' And this group is _notorious_ for their, ah, methods of torture, so most of my group naturally wanted to hand over the money and run. But I," Angard laughed and the two shinobi in front of him shifted. "I wouldn't give in. So they came at me with the ferocity of a pack of lions. Oh, did they put up a fight. By now most of my 'teammates' had abandoned me, so I was on my own. They say the battle lasted for days; eventually they got the best of me..." Naruto gasped. "They got you?" He asked quietly and Angard nodded. "From there they tried to get information on my client. It was...uncomfortable, to say the least. They only worked on the right side of my face though, never figured out why. But I'm a loyal man, contrary to popular belief." Angard shot a pointed glare at Kakashi at that statement.

"My client stayed safe from them. And one time they were, ah, ignorant enough to leave my restraints loose enough for me to slip out and get a hold of some weapons. It hurt like a bitch though, I must say. The battle that followed was, well, gruesome. And even I eventually became disgusted, really. Twirling 'round and stabbing people in the stomaches gets a bit old after awhile so I went to collect my reward- the money- and fought my way out after that. I think the shinobi that went to investigate the building later on said the blood flowed like a river. Too bad they didn't know I had just rid the world of one of the most notorious criminal organizations...that wasn't Akatsuki. They're just not good enough for me, hm?" Sasuke found himself reluctantly astonished by the tale, and if it impressed him it certainly left a mark on Sakura and Naruto.

"That's amazing!" Sakura exclaimed and Naruto nodded dumbly in agreement, too awestruck to say anything. Angard pretended to bow and smiled at the two teammates' jubilant praise. "While that certainly was a...ah...riveting tale, you two still need to get ready to go," Kakashi called from behind Sasuke and the raven turned to see the Jounin packed and waiting for Sakura and Naruto to get a move on. The two leaped up and nodded, rushing to their seperate belongings and stuffing everything into their packs. Sasuke shook his head and turned his head to the sky, watching the sun drift across the sky and approach around, oh, nine o' clock in the morning, clouds dotting the otherwise clear blue every now and again. The sight calmed Sasuke and he was tempted to relax, however he refused to relent his stiff posture even when Naruto came to stand by him.

"Hey bastard." "Hn." Naruto looked up at Sasuke's upturned face. "So, what'd you think of Angard's story?" The blonde asked excitedly, voice rising with every word. "Sounded just like any other battle story. Over-exaggerated and dramatized for effect." Naruto scowled and Sasuke glanced down at him out of the corner of his eye. "It wasn't over-exaggerated! It was awesome. I hope one day I can be a great shinobi like that..." Sasuke snorted. "A missing-nin with nothing tied to your name but death? Okay, you go along with that," he muttered and turned to face Naruto fully. "Oi! I meant I hope I can _fight _like that one day, you know, like fearlessly and brave and all that." "I've never known you to be afraid of anything, dobe." Naruto's eyes flickered away for the slightest moment and Sasuke wondered into it, about to question the blonde when he looked back at the Uchiha. "Yeah, well, you thought wrong," Naruto muttered and glared into Sasuke's onyx eyes. The raven lifted an eyebrow. "So you're admitting weakness?" He asked with a smirk and shifted back on one foot. Naruto gaped, wide eyed, at Sasuke. Then he shut his mouth with a snap. "I'm not weak!" The fox boy demanded, stomping his foot on the ground. "Everyone is afraid of something Sasuke. Even you. Trust me." Sasuke's gaze narrowed and Sakura shuffled behind him, apparently finishing her own packing.

"What do you know about _me?_" Sasuke demanded and leaned forward to peer into Naruto's eyes. The blonde held Sasuke's gaze evenly without wavering, his gaze a rare steely cold. "I know enough to know you are afraid of some things. But you don't want to admit it to yourself, or others." "And what about you Naruto?" Sasuke asked quietly. "What do _I _know about _you? _How am I supposed to know what you're afraid of?" Naruto looked away again. "You really don't want to know." Sasuke was about to reply when Kakashi stepped between them, holding out Naruto's pack. "Off we go," the wolf said as Naruto took his possesions and slung them over his shoulder, shooting a hard glare at Sasuke before going to release Angard from his temporary "jail" and leading him towards where Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke waited.

"Alright. I plan on getting us into the desert by noon," Kakashi stated and turned, apparently giving the signal to assume the other day's formation. Sasuke followed suit and swiftly took up his position on Angard's left, Naruto and Sakura doing the same with their own spots, however Pakkun was missing from their four man cell. "So, Sasuke," Angard said as they began at a small pace. "Did you enjoy my tale?" _Here we go again, _Sasuke thought with an inward sigh. "It was interesting." Angard seemed to snort. "Is that all? Interesting? I was expecting riveting or engaging, not 'interesting'. It just sounds so...dull." Sasuke huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, he can be a prick like that," Naruto chimed in. "Shut up dobe." "Make me, teme!" "Gladly." "Hey!" "Calm down," Angard said and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Calm down. I doubt your sensei would appreciate the bickering. Right, Kakashi?" Angard leaned forward in expectation. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm used to it by now," the Jounin said tiredly. "But silence would be nice every now and then, ne?" Angard nodded. Sasuke saw Naruto pout and rolled his eyes. "Fine," the both muttered and Sakura giggled in the back. "Let's make this into a game, shall we?" Angard proposed and waved his hands forward, the chains connecting his handcuffs jingling together. Sasuke looked at the brunette and arched an eyebrow. "Whoever stays quiet the longest gets...oh, I dunno, the winner gets to decide what happens to the loser." "This'll be easy," Sasuke muttered and glanced over at Naruto in a somewhat cheeky manner. The blonde grinned back. "Watch it bastard, I'm gonna win this time for sure, believe it!" "I'd sooner believe the Fourth Hokage will come down from heaven and tell me the world's most dangerous jutsu." "Asshole!" Angard sighed. "The game begins...now!" He ordered.

Silence fell.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were soon dragging their feet in sand and dust as warm gusts of wind brushed their faces occasionally. Forests of trees gave way to sparse saplings and patches of grass. Sasuke's feet were kicking up mini clouds of dust behind him and even though he refused to admit weariness (partly because of the competition that was still on even after hours of walking) he did at least want to say this: it was fucking hot. Like someone had taken him and shoved him into an oven, then turned the heat on high and baking him like a cake. "Kakashi-sensei...can we take a...break?" Sakura murmured, her breathing coming out in heavy pants. When Sasuke turned to check on her, her arms were dangling by her sides and her bangs hung limply against her forehead. "In a few minutes Sakura. I want to keep going for a few more minutes. A mile, at most." Sakura nodded dully and Sasuke turned, keeping his eyes focused on the swirling clouds of dust on the path in front of them. He looked up at Angard, who was walking calmly and confidently, his strides even and his face level, not flushed and sweating as Sasuke was sure he appeared.

_What is wrong with this guy? _Sasuke thought tiredly and noticed his feet were dragging louder. _Does he not get tired or something? _There was an audible thump as Naruto's arms slapped against his sides. "Ah! I give up! I don't care if I lose, I can't stand not talking! Ugh, Kakashi-sensei, can we please take a break?" Naruto complained and Sasuke smirked. "And to Sasuke goes the spoils," Angard announced triumphantly and gestured to Sasuke with his shackled hands, the chains clanging against one another. "Naruto, you heard what I told Sakura. In a few minutes we'll take a break-!" Kakashi swiftly cut off as a group of five black-clad shinobi appeared out of seeming no-where and brandishing series of barbed weapons. A man with black hair and hazel eyes stepped forward, carrying a thin sword that ended in two prongs on the end.

"Alright, hand over the kid and the tall guy in the middle and no-one will get hurt...probably." The man grinned maliciously. "Which kid? I've got three," Kakashi replied lowly and from Sasuke's point of view he saw Kakashi's left arm lift to pull up the hitai-ate on his forehead that covered his left eye. The man rolled his eyes and a brunette female strode forward, bearing a set of twin axes, the edges of the insides of the blades jagged into shards that were meant tear and bite into flesh. "Blondie over there," she said sweetly and tilted her head to Naruto, and Sasuke wanted to go stand in front of the blonde, to protect him, but instead watched as Kakashi reached into his weapons pouch and retrieved a kunai, holding it in front of him. Mimicking their sensei's movements, Sasuke and Sakura pulled out shruiken and kunai as well.

"But why? What do you need them for?" Kakashi asked cautiously and shifted into a stance ready for battle. "Personal reasons," the woman replied merrily, her words dripping with verbal poison. "I'm sure you'd understand...if you knew what needs to happen." The entire group shifted forward slightly. Sasuke, threatened, went to go next to Naruto like he had thought of earlier, the blonde deathly pale with eyes narrowed at the crowd in front of them. Sakura went to stand on Naruto's right side, a determined expression on her face and fear in her eyes. "You won't take Naruto or Angard," she said loudly and confidently, despite the scared aura she was giving off. "I guarantee it."

"Oh..._sweetie..._you'd sooner have better luck pushing a mountain." And with that statement, the opposing team leapt into battle in a blur of steely gray and black. Sasuke ran forward and his weapon clanged against an axe of the woman from earlier, her brown hair swinging around her head wildly and a joyous smile on her face. Out of the corner of his eye Sasuke saw her left arm lift and swing the axe in her hand down, aiming for Sasuke's skull. Scowling, the raven ducked and aimed a kick at her knees. She leapt back and drew her axes back, flinging each forward at Sasuke. He jumped back and backfliped over the blades, which seemed to stop in mid-air and twirl back to their owner, the handles landing in her palms.

Cautiously, Sasuke activated his sharnigan and ran forward again, clashing weapons with the woman once more, this time matching her step-for-step and sometimes staying one move ahead of her, landing blows on her cheeks and arms, drawing thick gashes in her flesh. But despite the wounds, she continued to grin, but her eyes betrayed the fury she felt at the Uchiha wounding her so grievously. "Ah...so you're an Uchiha," she hissed as Sakura ran by in a pink and red blur, green eyes wild as she chased after a man who was missing his right arm and wielding a long pole with spikes attached to the very tip, crimson hair adorning his head and a fearfully gleeful expression on his face.

"What does it matter to you," Sasuke muttered in reply and dodged a series of curious black spears flung his way, then tossed two large shruikens in return. "Your brother...he is quite famous around these parts..." Sasuke's fury rose at the mention of his brother. "And so are you."

Well, that was unexpected.

Sasuke noticed as Kakashi cast an earth jutsu and bound the man who had spoken first to the ground, his mouth spewing curses and his eyebrows drawn into a scowl. "What do you mean?" He shouted as he slashed a cut into her thigh. "Do you not remember the demon Zabuza? The stories float around quickly you know. You took on his lackey and him single-handedly!" _So they don't know about how I "saved" Naruto, _he thought scathingly. Sucking in a deep breath, he concentrated his chakra into a dense ball in his mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" A large fireball exploded from Sasuke's mouth and launched at the woman, who deflected the jutsu with her axes.

"Yeah, I remember.." Sasuke muttered under his breath and hissed as the jagged edge of an axe barely grazed his cheek. Naruto and Angard blazed by the Uchiha with identical feral snarls on their faces, Angard still chained but managing to keep up with two people that appeared to be twins who both carried tridents. The brunette suddenly leaped forward and flipped into the air, using his handcuffs to secure a hold around one man's neck and Naruto sliding down to trip the other man in a tackle. "You're pretty powerful for a brat," the woman he was fighting noted and slid back as Sasuke skidded on his back due to a mid-air tackle. "I hear that often." Sasuke clapped his hands together again and began to form seals.

_Snake...Dragon...Rabbit...Tiger!_

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!" Another fireball launched from Sasuke's lips, but this time the flames formed into a smaller sphere. But it was also faster, and more powerful than his previous attack. The woman barely had time to widen her eyes before she was engulfed in flames, screaming as her flesh melted into nothing and her bones became charred. _"Craidan!" _The man that Kakashi had restrained yelled out in distress, eyes wide as he watched the woman crumble away to nothing. He fixed a hate-filled gaze on Sasuke, but the raven refused to flinch away. "I'll kill you for that," he snarled out and wrenched his wrist out of Kakashi's earth hold. "I'll kill you!" He screamed out again, the pure rage and sorrow in his voice reminding Sasuke of a certain raven-haired boy who longed to inflict that sort of pain on someone who was once close to him.

More dirt crumbled around his other arm and now the only thing keeping him at bay was the stone wrapped around his ankles and calves, a savage smile on his face and an insane glint in his eyes. "But not before I rip something away from you." Sasuke, confused, heard a grunt from behind him and the thump of a body hitting the ground. That's when he realized it: Naruto's familiar battle shouts had gone silent, and Angard's chains had stopped clanging. Blood running cold, the Uchiha glared at the man. "What do you mean," he muttered and glowered daggers at him. A low chuckle built within him and it slowly rose into a crazed fit of laughter, fit for a maniac. "Remember this, _Sasuke Uchiha, _oh yes, I know who you are...remember this, I will have my revenge. And it will be oh so sweet."

He wrenched his legs out of the stone vices and leapt away faster than even Sasuke's sharnigan could follow, and he whirled to see a sight that caused Sasuke to want to set the world aflame. Kakashi staggered next to the raven' clutching his left arm and limping, dragging his right foot across the dirt. Sakura joined them on Sasuke's other side, her gasp filling the air. Angard's chains signaled the brunette was close behind. But...

"_Naruto!_" Sasuke screamed, unable to contain himself and unable to erase the image of the blonde dangling, unconscious from one of the twin's shoulders, blood dripping from his forehead and his hitai-ate falling to the ground in seemingly slow motion. "_NARUTO!_" he yelled again and staggered forward, fear clutching his heart.

"Remember, Uchiha...you will pay. And it all starts with _him._"

"NARUTO!"

* * *

-squeal- my first cliffhanger! And my longest chapter yet o_O they'll probably be longer from here (that's what he said ;D), so I'm hoping to spend more time and put a little more effort into the chapters :) later~!


	7. Full Moon

Full Moon

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Sasuke stared off into space while Kakashi and Angard paced furiously in front of him, both men wounded severely with their blood dripping to the dirt, seeping into the earth in heavy portions. Sakura sat, wide-eyed, at his side, her emerald eyes watching the two older men. "Why did they just take Naruto? Why not you too..." Kakashi muttered as he passed Angard in their maniac dance. "I can understand why they wanted Naruto and I...but why take one part of the puzzle?" Sasuke refused to move, to speak, to question what the two older men were whispering about.

All he cared about was the one person who had earned the right to be called his friend and the image of his lifeless body that was slung like a sack over someone's shoulders.

_It's not fair!_

Why was it that the gods always seems to just, well, hate him? Why was it always, _always _him who had to lose people he allowed into his heart? Why...why did Naruto have such a huge affect on him? "...Sasuke-kun..." A light voice shimmered through Sasuke's consciousness and broke his disturbing thoughts. "Sasuke-kun...look at me," Sakura whispered and leaned forward, peering past Sasuke's shoulder and into his dark bangs. The raven turned his head dully to meet Sakura's worried gaze. "What is it Sakura," he asked quietly. Kakashi and Angard stopped in their worrying to gaze at the two genin, their eyes crazed with frantic anger and worry.

"Are you alright?" The rosette continued and shifted on the ground they were sitting on. Sasuke just noticed a thin gash that ran along her cheekbone, his eyes fixated on the crimson that oozed slowly from the wound. And how she had recieved that injury in the first place.

**_Flashback_**

_"NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed and charged forward, eyes locked on Naruto, who's anger and fear-filled eyes snapped up to lock onto Sasuke's face as the man carrying him pushed himself faster. "Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice called out behind the raven, but he refused to acknowledge the Jounin as he pounded his legs against the hard, dirt compacted ground with clouds of dust billowing around him. Naruto clawed at his captor, unable to preform signs because his hands were tied, biting and scratching to no avail. _

_"Naruto!" Sasuke heard Sakura yell and soon her footsteps joined his in the chase. Sasuke tried to draw onto his chakra to summon the largest fireball he ever had the power to create, and soon found himself shocked and startled at the fact that there almost seemed to be a wall between him and his chakra; the energy that throbbed within him was still there, but it was fuzzy, and distorted._

_Sakura gasped beside him, and the Uchiha assumed she too had discovered the lack of power, but then he saw what happened next. It all seemed to happen in slow motion; the man carrying Naruto raised his right arm slowly, the side opposite of Naruto, and in his hand glistened a sinister-looking three-pronged dagger with strange runes carved into the base, a purple fluid dripping from each tip and sizzling as it touched the ground. His arm reached across to Naruto's back with the blades barely brushing the blonde's jacket, then lifted before descending, sheathing the dagger in Naruto's flesh. A pained scream tore from Naruto's lips, and his eyes widened, flashing in a sequence of blue to red and a collage of emotion._

_Sasuke narrowed his own crimson-tinted eyes, sickened to watch his teammate's blood spill to the sandy floor of a dying forest, mixed with whatever foul substance the blades had been dipped in. Reaching into his weapons pouch, the raven drew three kunai and prepared to fling them when a small hand closed around his wrist. Stopping and spinning rapidly, Sasuke fixed a pointed glare at the rosette who returned his stare confidently, her pale arm extending and connecting with his own. "What the hell do you thinking you're doing?!" He yelled and widened his eyes. "We're never going to catch up with them, Sasuke-kun! We'll kill ourselves before we even have a chance to get Naruto back!" Sakura shouted back._

_Sasuke snarled wordlessly and attempted to wrench free of her grasp, but she still retained her inhuman strength even after losing her chakra and in no universe did Sasuke believe he could escape the kunochi when she actually tried to restrain him. So instead, a red haze filled his vision and he flicked a kunai to his left hand, raising it and bringing it down to gouge Sakura's cheek. The rosette gasped and released the Uchiha, barely dodging the attack and recieving a nasty gash on her right cheekbone, the blood seeping down her face as if she were crying. Her head remained lowered as if she had been slapped, and Sasuke stared, stunned, at the blood that dripped from his own weapon. _Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. _Kakashi's words rang in the raven's head, and his mind warred against itself for two reasons._

_He had just tried to _kill _Sakura. He had just went in to slash her to ribbons in a probably vain attempt to get Naruto back. But Naruto was in danger. He was wounded and probably dying and again, Sasuke was witnessing those close to him get hurt. "Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered and her head raised slowly, fearful of the furious boy in front of her. "We need to go back...Kakashi-sensei and Angard are probably figuring out a better way to get N-Naruto back..." Sasuke looked behind himself and saw the group that had taken Naruto swiftly vanishing over the horizon. With his sharnigan, however, he could see more. He could see the mop of blonde hair sticking over the bald man's shoulder, he could see the bloody orange and blue jacket, and he could see the hazel eyed raven who was hell-bent on destroying Naruto in revenge for the woman, __Craidan, whom he had killed._

___"Please Sasuke-k-kun...let's go." Sasuke felt his legs move forward but his head remained swiveled to gaze behind himself, watching as the group vanished from even his own Kekkai Genkai-enhanced vision. _Naruto...

_**End of** **flashback**_

"I'm fine," he muttered and returned his eyes to Sakura's. the kunochi looked doubtful and Angard seemed like he was about to say something, but Sasuke cut him off. "I'm fine," he repeated and stood shakily. "Sasuke...I don't mean to upset you, but you didn't seem fine a few minutes ago," Angard said softly, his chains shifting as he moved forward. Kakashi moved with the prisoner.

"Sasuke, we're worried about you. All of us," the Jounin stated and crouched to peer into Sasuke's eyes. "What just happened...well...Angard and I are trying to figure it out." "Perhaps if you stopped concerning yourselves with me and focused on Naruto this could have been fixed," Sasuke murmured and looked down. Kakashi shifted back and the clank of chains signaled the prisoner was stepping forward. "Sasuke, how about you and I take a walk," Angard murmured gently, like trying to coax a cat to come inside. And Sasuke wanted to claw at everything in sight. "Leave me alone," he snarled and tried to back away, but was met with Sakura's thin arms pressed against his back.

"Sasuke-kun," she said and pushed him forward with her startling strength, right into Angard's chest. "Please go for a little while...please.." The pleading in Sakura's voice managed to subdue Sasuke long enough for Angard to place his hands on his right shoulder and steer him towards a small underbrush littered with decaying tree trunks and dying grass, the raven wordlessly complying as they passed a small heap of blue cloth and gray metal, the Konoha leaf carved into the steel. _Oh shit._ Sasuke braced himself for the barrage of emotions that rushed into his brain like a river and winced at the sound of a body slamming against the ground, the rush of air leaving in gasps, and..._  
_

"Sasuke, calm down, alright? We're _going _to get Naruto back," Angard said reassuringly...but there was a waver in his voice, an uncertainty that prevented Sasuke from feeling like Angard could fulfill that promise. "You don't believe that, do you," Sasuke asked tensely and stepped forward into the tall grass, following Angard into the brush. The prisoner didn't say anything. A tense silence formed between them as they poked their way through dry bushes and pieces of grass, the only sound being the crackle of dry foliage and the clinking of the metal of Angard's chains. Then the brunette stopped, standing stiffly with his arms clasped in front of him, chains shaking tight against one another. The tattoo on his left hand was barely in Sasuke's vision, and suddenly it began to rotate rapidly on the missing-nin's hand, wind whipping wildly around the two figures.

"I couldn't protect him," Angard whispered slowly. "I swore I'd help him and I didn't!" Angard knelt and clutched at his head like a frightened child. Mounds of earth erupted all around Sasuke and water rose at an alarming rate all around his feet. Sasuke leapt back as a spike of rock rose rapidly from where he had been standing. "...Angard!" The raven shouted above the howling and shrieking of wind and water as he continued to dodge the multitude of nameless, jutsu-less attacks that he assumed were too far away for Kakashi and Sakura to notice or help him fight against. "You just told me to calm down, didn't you?" _For Kami's sake, listen to your own advice! _The attacks stopped. Angard turned slowly, his movements lacking the usual grace and confidence they usually held, instead seeming rough and haggard like an old man.

And his eyes.

The blue and brown that normally sparkled with some sort of emotion were dull and lax; to Sasuke, he felt he was staring into sorrow personified...and it hurt. It hurt worse than any blade digging into his flesh or any genjutsu twisting his mind; it was torture of the worst kind; the heartbreak of a man. "I promised his mother and father," Angard murmured brokenly, openly staring into Sasuke's onyx orbs. "I promised them, that if anything happened to them...that I would be there for him." Sasuke continued to stand stone still while the wind whipped unnaturally around them. "I could've stopped them, dammit! I could've let them take me instead of him..." Angard slammed his fist against a rotting tree trunk, the wood creaking and groaning as it crashed to the dry earth.

"It should have been me..." Sasuke didn't know what to say. This was totally different from dealing with an over-emotional Sakura or a hyperactive..._him_. This was an occasion where Sasuke Uchiha admitted to not having a clue what he was supposed to do. Not about Naruto, not about the hurting man in front of him, not _anything!_ While Sasuke mentally berated himself for the admision, Angard stared at the tree he had fallen brokenly, back slumped and chains hanging loosely from his wrists and ankles, his hair flowing behind his head in the breeze that had conjured up. The tattoo on the brunette's wrist slowly ceased spinning chaotically, the red and black ink stilling into distinguishable lines once more.

"...you just promised you would get him back, right? Why?" Sasuke shifted his feet, uncomfortable because they were sopping wet from Angard's curious attack, his hitai-ate suddenly feeling very heavy on his forehead. Angard continued to stare at him. "What's with the sudden change of heart?" The man said blankly. "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, confused. "Before you acted as if you could care less about Naruto. Now you're screaming and chasing after him and begging me to save him. What changed?" Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, unsure of what to say. Angard was right. He didn't know what had changed to make him care for the blonde so deeply.

"When you can answer why you care about Naruto, I will tell you why I do," Angard said and looked away, up to the sky with a small breeze blowing across his face. "I'm someone who was supposed to be there for Naruto. But because of certain...issues...I wasn't. I was unfaithful. And this mission was supposed to be my chance to redeem myself in not only his parent's eyes, but my own. And so far I haven't been doing a good job of it." The brunette glanced back down at Sasuke. "The scars on my face aren't just from the story I told back there. There are people who are after Naruto and I, and they got me. They needed Naruto too, and I was the only one who knew where he was or if he was even still alive. But..I wouldn't tell. And oh, their methods of trying to get the information were pure hell, but I wouldn't give. So you can see just how committed I am to that boy. And to getting him back.

"So yes, Sasuke, I do plan on getting him back. But I will not explain why until you look within yourself and discover why _you _want to save him." With that, the prisoner swept past Sasuke and headed back to where Kakashi and Sakura inevitably waited for their return, leaving Sasuke standing confused and alone.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

"What took you guys so long? We saw you standing over there but..." Sakura trailed off and shrugged. Sasuke simply blinked at her and noticed the blue Konoha hitai-ate he had seen earlier still laying on the ground in front of him. Waving the pink rosette off, he went to go pick the object up and cradle it in his palms, seeing the small strands of sunshine hair that stuck to the fabric. Smirking lightly, Sasuke brushed the hair away and tucked the hitai-ate into his pocket. _I will carry this wherever I go, _he decided as he strode back to Sakura, who was standing close to a tree with an armful of sticks and branches for the campfire. _And until we get Naruto back...it's mine. _Together, he and Sakura went back to a small clearing that Kakashi had picked out after they had buried Craiden and left the battle site, making sure to put as much distance between themselves and the ravaged area before everyone was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

When the two genin returned, they saw something that would confuse most people who were not away of who Angard really was; his shackles lay in a pile by a sleeping sack, and both he and Kakashi sat cross-legged in the dirt with a map unraveled in front of them, the edges faded and ragged with time and the paper yellowed. "If they were to have a hideout it would most likely be here," Angard muttered lowly and Sasuke saw him point to somewhere in the top left corner of the map. Apparently they had not sensed Sasuke and Sakura yet. "For an S-class missing nin and a Jounin, they really suck sometimes," Sakura whispered and the Uchiha nodded in agreement. "But that's to be expected," Kakashi replied and pointed to the middle of the map. "From the direction they ran off they probably went here. It's more in the open, so they are probably underground."

Angard nodded and began to respond when Kakashi raised his palm to silence him. "Come here you two. You should know eavesdropping is disrespectful," the Jounin drawled and turned his head so his one visible eye could see the two Genin standing on the edge of the clearing. Stepping forward, Sakura dumped the firewood in front of Kakashi and the wolf quickly set the pile ablaze, lighting the surrounding area warmly; but Sasuke still somehow felt cold on the inside. "Sit," Angard commanded and Sasuke and Sakura swiftly plopped down across from the two older men.

"Okay. So as you two have probably noticed, my chains are gone. That's because, well...I'm not actually an S-class prisoner. Missing nin, yes. But Konoha has never captured me. This mission isn't an official mission. It was supposed to be a way to get Naruto safely away from Konoha and to Suna, where I would protect him." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Sakura inhaled sharply, leaning forward until the fire practically made her face appear orange and red. "Safe from what?" She demanded. "Akatsuki is planning on attacking Konoha as a whole in search of Naruto," Angard said and Sasuke was struck with a memory of seeing Itachi and his partner, Kisame, standing in front of Naruto in those threatening red and black cloaks. _I have no interest in you right now, little brother..._he growled involuntarily. "But _why,_" he murmured and sat back. "What do they want with Naruto?"_  
_

Kakashi and Angard glanced at each other. "Should we tell them?" Angard murmured to the Jounin. "Hm...no. Not yet." Angard nodded and turned back to the two children. "You'll know soon enough," he promised and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Anyways, the chains and the prisoner stuff were just a ruse Unfortunately, some Konoha nin were tailing us up to right before we were attacked, so I never had a chance to fully remove them. But now I can freely move, so the chances of getting Naruto back are higher. Now, as for the actual plan..." Kakashi pointed to the map in front of them and Sasuke and Sakura leaned around the fire to view where he was signaling. "We have no idea where they went," Kakashi said simply and Sasuke sighed. "Assuming they kept traveling west after you chased after them, Sasuke, then their base, again assuming that they have one, would be up here." Kakashi pointed to the left of the map. "However, there are many smaller towns and villages over in that direction. And considering what Naruto has, it would be unwise to take him somewhere so populated.

"So they probably either went North and looped around towards Suna, or went South towards the Fire Country border. But either option seems unlikely since both destinations are extremely close to large concentrations of shinobi powers, hm? So, the most viable travel route they took was West, most likely backtracking after we left." Sasuke nodded once and Sakura replied, "Yes, sensei." "Now don't forget, they were a small group. But there are probably more of them where they came from," Angard reminded lowly and turned to pull a sleeping sack from behind himself. "Here." He pulled out two boxes of ramen and shoved them towards Sakura and Sasuke. He then handed another to Kakashi and took one for himself.

Sasuke opened the box and found a plastic bowl of miso ramen with a set of chopsticks laying across the food and was struck with a pang of sorrow as he was reminded that miso ramen was Naruto's favorite type of ramen, and considering the kid liked all ramen in general, this was the cream of the blonde's crop, so to speak. Swallowing a lump in his throat (particularly due to the greasy smell the food gave off) Sasuke proceeded to slowly consume his food alongside Sakura, who ate slowly with a thoughtful expression. Angard finished his portion in a matter of seconds, and Kakashi turned with his back to the group, leaving Sasuke and Sakura still wondering what their sensei's face looked like.

A comfortable silence filled the air after that, Sasuke staring into the fire and Sakura lying back on her sleeping bag to gaze at the stars, Kakashi reading his Come Come Paradise book (the man somehow managed to hide the book in his pocket) and Angard was filing the chains of his shackles into sharp darts with a dull kunai Kakashi had loaned him. Breathing deeply, the raven focused on the flickering motions of the flames in front of his, watching the ash twirl brightly into the air before dimming and fading to nothing. His mind was silent for once, and he much preferred the silence to the mental hell of juggling revenge, teamwork, and an obnoxious blonde.

"Alright, we have to head out early tomorrow, ne...so get some shut eye..." Kakashi murmured and shut his book, laying back into his sleeping bag. "Good night Sasuke, Sakura," Angard murmured and set his work aside. "Good night," two voices replied and Sasuke lay on his back, his hair splayed out in small portions behind his head. _Where are you Naruto, _he thought. _Are you looking at the same sky right now? Are you hurting? Are you...dead?_

8-8-8-8-8-8

A foot kicking Sasuke lightly in the ribs woke the raven up. Grumbling, he leaned his head over to see Kakashi standing over him, eye crinkled in amusement. "Up and at 'em," the Jounin said cheerfully, then went to go wake Sasuke's pink haired teammate. Still muttering under his breath about choking the shitty Jounin, Sasuke sat up and combed a hand through his hair, seeing the dying remnants of the fire rising up to meet the pale blue and purple of a dawn sky. Angard was no-where to be seen, and Sasuke's head swiveled left to right in search of the brunette. "He went up ahead to scope out possible places to search," Kakashi explained. "Okay." Sasuke stood and swiftly packed his things, irritated at how slow Sakura was being.

"Hurry up," he snapped, receiving a cold glare that he would have never suspected from the rosette. "Shut up," she hissed and shoved a red dress into her bag roughly. Kakashi leaned over Sasuke's shoulder and watched the kunochi. "Never annoy women during their...ah, time of the month," the Jounin murmured softly. "You'll regret it." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What is a time of the month?" He asked, thinking women marked particular dates on their calenders to act bitchy. Kakashi's eye widened and a poorly suppressed chuckle escaped the wolf's mouth. "What?" Sasuke demanded and turned to face his sensei fully. "Nothing," Kakashi gasped out, the visible portion of his face a bright red. "Let's get going." Confused, Sasuke turned and picked his bag up, slinging it over his shoulder.

_We're coming, Naruto._

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Hehe, silly clueless Sasuke. :3 So here's just a brief teaser for next chapter: Kyuubi. ;) Until next time everyone!


	8. Waning Gibbous Moon

Alright, so for Naruto's pov, **this is the Kyuubi thinking/talking,** _and this is Naruto thinking. _Enjoy!

* * *

Waning Gibbous Moon

* * *

_**Naruto POV **_

Naruto groaned and slowly lifted his head to attempt to peer past the black blindfold that covered his eyes. Squinting, he looked down his chest to find his body restrained by steel bars, holding him to a stone table surrounded by what seemed like candles. Nine of them, the blonde counted slowly. "The Fox Child awakens." Naruto flinched at the cold voice that spoke from his right. "What's going on?" the blonde yelled and jerked against the metal hold, then hissed in pain at the searing agony that ripped through his spine. "Where am I?! When I get out I'm _so _gonna kick your ass!"

An amused chuckle devoid of humor filled Naruto's ears. **Careful kid, this guy seems to be pretty dangerous. **Naruto blinked in surprise at the sound of the monster fox within him actually talking to him._ ...Kyuubi? _He thought. _Why the hell are you talking to me and acting like you care about me? _Shutting his eyes against the blindfold the blonde found himself in the familiar place of his nightmares, water pooling around his feet and dripping from pipes in the ceiling.

The Kyuubi lay in his enormous cage, head resting on his paws and one red eye peering down at the boy that stood on the other side of the metal bars. A low bark resonated deep within the fox's throat and Naruto's hand twitched. **Do you really think I am stupid enough to let my host simply stroll into danger? You're more of a moron than I thought. **Naruto wanted to be insulted by the statement, but there was a teasing tone to the fox's voice that reminded him of a certain stuck-up raven.

_"I'm not letting you take control of my body again," _Naruto said forcefully and glared at the demon in front of him. A russet tail swished across the floor behind the Kyuubi and rested on his muzzle. **I have no interest in "controlling" you, child. Besides, I have a feeling these people who kidnapped you are out for me, and honestly I prefer being sealed within you than whatever device they've conjured up. **Naruto's jaw dropped.

_"So you actually...like me?" _The blonde asked excitedly and ran forward to press his face against the cage bars, light glistening from the metal and reflecting in the water below. The Kyuubi coughed out what seemed to be a laugh. **In your dreams. If I had a choice between you and them, I'd choose you. Simple as that. **Naruto's smile grew. _That's the closest to an "I like you" as I'll get, _Naruto thought smugly, in his own head, in his head, so to him it was like thought-ception. Confusing but he soon got over it.

_"So how do you propose we get out of this?" _Naruto asked aloud and gazed up at the Kyuubi's eyes, which were locked on the blonde's small form. **That's the issue, **Kyuubi growled and sat back on his hind legs, water sloshing around the fox's paws. **They've sealed away my chakra and yours. Probably with a separate jutsu than the Fourth's Eight Trigram Seal. Point is, right now we are pretty much powerless to stop whatever it is these people have in store for us. **_"Great plan," _Naruto muttered and proceeded to sit on the floor, the water below him oddly not seeping into his clothes as he had expected it to.

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes and shook his fur out. **Don't get sarcastic, **he barked out. **Our best shot right now is to hold out until your teammates find you. That one quiet kid, the one you call 'Teme'...he should find you pretty fast, hm? **Naruto looked to the floor, downcast. _"Don't waste your breath. He's probably ecstatic that I'm gone," _He muttered. "Bring out the Weapon," the same cold voice called out in the real world, and there was a clank of heavy metal sliding next to Naruto.

**Don't you remember him yelling and chasing after you brat? You are so clueless sometimes it makes me wonder if you even have a brain. **_"Shut up," _Naruto said halfheartedly, but the memories of Sasuke, eyes wide with terror for _him _filled his eyes. There was another sound and the brush of flesh against steel. "This is a sacred ceremony, Fox Child. You would do best to not struggle, and allow us to take what is ours."** Here we go, **Kyuubi muttered and stood on all four paws. A blade cut into Naruto's chest and he grimaced in pain, while inside his mind a tidal wave of purple came crashing towards himself and the Kyuubi.

**Remember, we have to hold on until your team gets here.**

**_Sasuke POV_**

Crunch. Sasuke whirled to see Sakura wincing as she stepped on another twig. "Can't you be more quiet?" He hissed under his breath to the rosette. She glared at him. "I will rip you in half," she hissed. "If you tell me to do one more thing, Sasuke-_kun_." Sasuke raised an eyebrow but complied, seeing the kunochi meant what she said and turned again to face Kakashi's back as the Jounin lead the two genin through a forest. "Angard should be this way," the wolf muttered and veered right past a dead forked tree. Sunlight shone weakly through decaying leaves and Sasuke wondered when they would actually see living foliage...if ever.

"Kakashi. Over here." Angard's voice rose quietly from their left. Sasuke looked in that direction to see the brunette waving towards the trio, the scars on his face shadowed and almost making him appear normal in the shaded clearing he stood in. They walked briskly towards the man, stopping in front of him. That's when Sasuke noticed they weren't alone. Two women stood behind Angard with their arms crossed, both identical heights and with scowls on their faces. The one to the brunette's right had her dark chocolate-colored hair pulled back into a high ponytail, strands of it cascading past her shoulder. A navy-blue jacket covered her torso followed by tight fitting black pants and black combat boots. Her eyes were mismatched like Angard's, her left eye a bright green and her right eye brown, covered slightly by her bangs.

The other woman had her bright, almost white blonde hair down, her bangs covering one eye like her female companion, the tips dyed a deep red. Her eyes were a curious shade of lavander however, and her pupils were slitted like a cat's. She wore an unzipped green jacket, the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, and underneath the clothing she wore a black t-shirt. Her legs were covered by something that looked to be a cross between shorts and pants; her left pant leg was cut off to expose an odd, swirling tattoo running around her calf and thigh. The right leg was a deep grey and cut off just above her ankle, where her feet were covered by wedged sandals.

The two women noticed Sasuke and Sakura gaping at them and the brunette smiled. "Hello," she said in a voice that reminded Sasuke of birds singing. The chrome-blonde to her right nodded in their direction and cast her odd eyes to Kakashi. "It's been awhile, Wolf Child," she greeted the Jounin in an oddly warm voice as compared to her facial features. Sasuke moved to stand at Kakashi's left and looked up to see his visible eye wide with surprise. "Ira," he murmured and looked to Angard. "You didn't say they were coming," he said stiffly and the brunette shrugged. "I didn't know," he said seemingly honestly. "I was just looking for any sign of the group."

The brunette woman behind Angard coughed in annoyance. "Thanks for introducing us," she muttered and then smiled at Sakura, who was looking up at her in shock. "Your eyes," the rosette gawked at the blonde, Ira, and the other woman. They both laughed. "We get that a lot," Ira said happily and went to stand at Angard's right arm. "I'm Kunae," the brunette introduced and glared at Angard. "_Someone _forgot to mention that," she growled out, her eyes changing from brown and green to a firey orange and red. "I apologized," Angard replied easily and returned his attention to Kakashi and the two genin. "Allow me to introduce all three of us properly."

Angard stepped forward and waved his arm around himself, a shimmer of air washing over his face and cascading towards his feet. Sasuke watched as, before his eyes, the horrible marks on Angard's face vanished and were replaced by deeply tanned, smooth skin. Hair grew from the right side of his scalp and matched the length that existed on the left half of his head. The black prisoner clothes he wore were replaced by a white, high collared vest with gold trimming and grey pants, high black boots covering his calves and feet. He laughed at Sasuke and Sakura's shocked expressions. "Surprise," the brunette said and tyed his hair in a ponytail.

"Way to go Angard, you scared the poor things," Kunae murmured and looked at the genin with sympathetic eyes. "Sorry," she said to them. "He likes to show off." "I'm aware," Sasuke muttered and cast his eyes downward. "Kunae, Ira, why are you here?" Kakashi asked and leaned back against a tree near the edge of the clearing. "Not that I'm upset by your presence, ne, but why? I thought your kind were banned from the Overworld." "There's been a shift in the Balance," Ira growled and looked over at Kunae, who nodded in agreement. "The Fox Child is in terrible danger," the brunette continued, her eyes now a dark brown hard with seriousness. "It has been foretold that he will undergo the most dangerous of all the Tests in order for the Decieved to obtain what they most desire."

Sasuke understood none of this.

Attempting to activate his sharinigan to see if these people were even human, he growled as he found that his chakra was still locked away from him. Angard glanced at him and snorted. "Chakra still gone?" The brunette asked and went to stand in front of Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke nodded irritably and Sakura said "Yes." Angard nodded. "Their weapons were coated in a fluid that surpresses chakra," he explained. "It'll take a few days for the effects to wear off." Sasuke scowled at the thought of not being able to use ninjutsu for that set amount of time. "What is going on?" He demanded aloud and glared at Angard. _Where is Naruto?! _

"Ah. I figured you'd have to find out soon enough. Come," Angard said and led the way out of the clearing and past Ira, Kunae, and Kakashi, who were in a quiet and heated disscussion that Sasuke could not hear. Sakura trailed in front of the raven while he ambled along a few steps behind, eyes set on the dying leaves before him. "Sit," Angard invited and proceeded to kneel in front of two large rocks. Sakura went to the one on the left while Sasuke perched himself on the right. "Okay...tell me, do either of you know what Daemons are?" Angard asked and tilted his head to the aide. The term did not ring a bell with Sasuke and judging from the expression on Sakura's face she had no better luck placing it herself.

Angard nodded as they stayed silent. "I figured as much," he said and shifted his feet. "Well, in the most simple of terms, a 'Daemon' is half human, half demon. At first, anyway." Sasuke blinked. "So you're one?" he asked coldly. "You caught on fast Sasuke. Yes, I am a Daemon. So are Kunae and Ira. All three of us are close friends of Kakashi and were as well to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki...Naruto's parents." Sakura gasped and Sasuke's eyes widened. "The Fourth is Naruto's father?" The kunochi whispered in an awed tone. Angard nodded. "And Kushina was the former Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no kitsune."

_I think it's based off the Kyuubi no kitsune or somethin'..._The memory of the stand owner talking about the stuffed fox that Naruto had won crept into Sasuke's mind. It made sense, he thought suddenly, to hate the demon who had inhabited one's own mother. "Does Naruto know that?" He asked, hoping to get some sort of confirmation on his theory. Angard shook his head, to Sasuke's disappointment. "No. But we'll talk about this later. So, Kunae, Ira, and myself were assigned to guard Naruto Namikaze- now Uzumaki - when he was born. Kushina _was_ in a sense my sister since she harbored a full blooded demon who has been traced through my lineage, so I did owe her her own son's protection.

However, there was a problem. You see, the Overworld, or Earth, is walked by the living. Demons are the cursed, and as such, Daemons are half-cursed. So we are forbidden from walking the Overworld, or else natural disasters occur. We instead rule over the Underworld...or hell." Angard paused and drew in a breath. "Kunae, you see, is from my clan. So we are related, and in fact siblings, and as such when one of us is assigned a human both of us are. Ira is from a different branch of our family, but is so far off she can almost be considered an Outcast; one who belongs to no family. So-" "But why did you call Kakashi the 'Wolf Child'?" Sasuke interrupted suddenly, not wanting to hear Angard's family history. "And who's the Fox Child?" "I'm getting there," Angard said irritably and motioned with his hand with the whirlpool tattoo towards the Uchiha.

"When Kushina became pregnant, all three of us swore our alliance to her and her husband. But that entailed remaining in the Overworld; something that is forbidden amongst my kind. When the Elders of our world found out, we were dragged back to the Underworld and ordered to remain there for all eternity. That's where we remained for the past twelve years of this lifetime. Eventually I escaped and made my way to Konoha, where I found out along the way of Akatsuki's plans. I alerted Tsunade and she allowed me to decieve Naruto, and to an extent you two, in order to keep him safe. Kunae and Ira contacted me then, saying they were on their way to the Overworld to see Naruto. That's why my tattoo spun that day."

Angard held up his left fist with the Whirlpool on it. "The ink in this tattoo is a link between the three of us. Ira has one on the base of her neck, and Kunae posesses one on the top of her right foot. The shape of the Whirlpool for the tattoo is simply because the Uzumaki clan was the ruling clan of the Whirlpool country at the time we met Kushina." The tattoo spun again almost to symbolize Angard's point. "That was Kunae telling me to hurry up," he explained. "Now on to the whole 'Fox Child' and 'Wolf Child' deal. Amongst our kind, real names are rarely used. Instead, we refer to each other with names such as "'Snake Child' or 'Crimson One'. Kakashi is 'Wolf Child' because he is the son of the White Fang. Naruto is 'Fox Child' because he is the son of Kushina. And another reason you will soon find out.

"You, Sasuke, would be 'Hawk Child' since the hawk was the animal symbol of the Uchiha clan. Sakura, you would most likely be 'Emerald Eyes', because, well...you know," Angard said and smiled. "Daemon's have a weird way of doing things. We also control the core of the elements themselves. That's why the other day Sasuke all of that stuff occured but I exerted no chakra. I lost focus and that allowed my cursed power to seep into the earth, causing those eruptions and floods." Sasuke nodded and looked to Sakura, who gazed back at him with shocked eyes. "What's the Test?" she asked tentatively, swinging her feet below her and swiping her hair out of her face. "And what are the Decieved?" Angard grimaced.

"They're the ones who took Naruto," he growled out. "They're called the Decieved because they believe that through certain...methods...they can become Daemon. But a Daemon is born, not made. And they think they can abuse that right." "But why did they take Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "I told you, he has to tell you Sasuke. I will honor him his privacy." Sasuke scowled and nodded. Angard stood and cracked his knuckles. "Let's head back," he said. "Kunae and Ira are getting irritated."

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

_**Naruto POV**_

_****_Naruto shouted as another tidal wave of evil lavander crashed around him in his mind and a blade dug into his shoulder. **Hold on kid, **Kyuubi growled and Naruto felt the fox concentrating his chakra into the wound. _"This fucking hurts," _Naruto hissed silently as another wave came hurtling towards him, the water level rising up to his chin and forcing him to look up to keep his nose above water. Another slash at the base of his neck. **Climb on my back, **the Kyuubi ordered and reached out with a paw for Naruto to scramble on, mentally dripping wet and clinging to the russet fur as he was lifted onto the Kyuubi's spine.

"Withdraw." Suddenly the blade that was imbedded in Naruto's arm in the real world was released and what felt like bandages were wrapped around the wounds that Kyuubi had not healed. "Rest assured, Fox Child...you will be broken. This Test is just one of many. Soon your Demon will be relinquished to us." The sounds of footsteps echoed around Naruto as well as the slamming of a heavy wooden door, then silence. **This purple water seems to be what is surpressing our chakra, **the Kyuubi said and stuck a paw into the fluid, which was in lesser quantities inside the cage that, as Naruto noticed, was quite dull and large on the inside.

_"So what do we do?" _He asked and plopped down amongst the strands of orange fur around him. **We wait for their next "Test". Although judging from the way they are proceeding with this, it's gonna take awhile for you to break. **Naruto snorted. _"Lovely. So we're still playing the waiting game?" _From Naruto's point of view the Kyuubi nodded. **Now shut up. I'm trying to heal your wounds so you don't bleed to death. **_"I thought you couldn't use chakra?" _Naruto stated and narrowed his eyes, thinking his newly found friend was decieving him.

_**We **_**cannot exert chakra. But I can use it internally to heal you. **_"Oh." _Silence lingered between to two for awhile until Kyuubi growled suddenly and slammed his right paw to the ground. **I hate waiting like a scared kit in a thunderstorm, **the fox growled and let out a roar of frustration. Naruto jolted as the demon staggered to his four paws, his blonde hair barely brushing the ceiling as the fox arched his back. The Kyuubi began to pace around the cage, muttering about being weak and something about "Wannabe Daemons". _"What's a Daemon?" _Naruto asked curiously and leaned past the fox's shoulder blade.

**Eh? Oh...nothing you need to know about yet. **Naruto groaned and leaned back, soothed by the Kyuubi's movements. _"Mind if I sleep?" _The blonde asked and shut his eyes. **Doesn't matter to me kid. We aren't going anywhere either way.**

**_Sasuke POV_  
**

**__**_Where did they go, _Sasuke thought in annoyance and glanced up at the setting sun. Kakashi along with the three Daemons had left more than three hours ago after Kunae had called them back, explaining there was a nearby village that had food and that the sisters were hungry. Sasuke sighed and shifted his position, his joints groaning in complaint as he stood from sitting cross-legged on the forest floor. Sakura sat across from him, combing a kunai through her hair and chopping off any split ends...as she had been for the whole entire time.

The snip of hair against metal was grinding on Sasuke's nerves...but he knew better than to berate Sakura for it right now. When Ira and Kunae had seen Sakura snapping at the raven for something he had done (something about breathing heavily, maybe) they laughed and promised to bring her something that would help. Three. Hours. Ago. _Snip. _A pile of pink hair was slowly forming around Sakura and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to grab that kunai out of the kunochi's hand and fling it deep into the woods while screaming about how sitting here and _cutting their hair _was not helping Naruto in the least, but that would be losing his temper.

And Uchihas did not lose their temper.

Sure, Sasuke had broken from that code of conduct as of late, but he promised himself now that he would adhere to it with a religious zeal, repeating the mantra in his head like a prayer as Kakashi leapt down from a tree excitedly, followed by Angard, Ira, and Kunae, the latter looking extremely frazzled and happy. "What is it?" Sasuke asked as flowers bloomed where the brunette walked, towards a large rock in the middle of the clearing. A box of assorted meats and steaming vegetables was set in front of the Uchiha by Kakashi, who then went to give Sakura her portion then sat with Angard. His question was ignored.

Irritated, but still repeating _do not lose your temper _in his mind, Sasuke ate in silence while Kunae and Ira talked in hushed tones to Sakura and Angard along with Kakashi seemed to be debating about the best book in the Come Come Paradise series.

Eventually the raven became fed up with being forgotten. Standing and flinging his box of food to the side, he shouted "Oi! Why the fuck is everyone so happy?!" Silence overran the camp. "Oh, I forgot to mention," Kunae said and sprung up, face alit with happiness. "I found their base, and where the Fox Child is. The Decieved are inside the Fire Country."

* * *

So, more OC's. Don't use them, blah blah blah, all that jazz. Kyuubi's finally in the mix and doesn't hate Naruto's guts, and our dear sweet Sasuke is getting closer to figuring out the mystery that is Naruto. As always, enjoy and see you soon!


	9. Third Quarter Moon

Third Quarter Moon

* * *

"I found their base, and where the Fox Child is. The Decieved are inside the Fire Country," Kunae said excitedly and Sasuke suddenly felt Naruto's hitai-ate weigh heavily in his pocket. "So they did loop around," Kakashi said and went to stand by Angard, who was looking at his sister with narrowed eyes. "You didn't tell me this," he muttered threateningly.

Ira grinned, her teeth flashing white and sharp in the dim evening light. "That's because unlike you, brother, _we _can actually sense the Fox Child's life force. You however focus on the human's chakra, which as you're well aware is a very weak signal in long distances. Hardly the easiest method of tracking," she said airily and flicked her hair behind her back and turned to Sakura.

"This should help your problem," the blonde said and handed the kunochi a small velvet pouch. Sasuke saw the rosette reach out for the bag out of the corner of his eye, but the larger part of his attention was focused on Kunae, who was leaning towards him expectantly and watching him with her mismatched eyes.

"Well? No hugs or 'Kunae, you are the smartest and most beautiful woman in the world'?" the brunette put her hand over her heart with a hurt expression. Sasuke blinked and Kakashi snorted. "Sasuke doesn't work like that Kunae," the Jounin said in amusement and winked- or blinked - at Sasuke. "The most you'll get out of him is a grunt and an occasional wave...ne." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Let's go get Naruto then," the raven said and bent to pick up his fallen food box, upset that his food was now covered in dirt, leaves, and possibly animal droppings. "It isn't that simple.." Ira said from Sakura's side, apparently shielding the rosette with her own body/hair (considering the volume of it Sasuke found it easy to believe she could easily block a platoon of ninja with it) as his teammate...changed?

"What do you mean," Angard asked and waved his hand towards his half-sister. "What I mean brother, is that the area is heavily layered in not only curse binds, but they managed to drag griffins and hellhounds into their perimeter." "Griffins and hellhounds?" Sasuke asked and felt the cursed seal on his shoulder (which he had been trying to ignore since they left for this mission) at the mention.

"Griffins are half-lion and half-eagle and hellhounds are virtually steroid-enhanced fire dogs," Ira said absentmindedly and rolled her eyes. "How the Deceived got them is beyond me. Either way, that's only _outside _their base. Kunae and I couldn't even begin to find what's inside their base. The only reason we found the Fox Child was the enormous amount of energy his body was exerting. Which I assume was due to-"

"Not now, Ira," Kakashi interrupted suddenly and looked hurriedly to Sasuke and Sakura, the latter of the two done with whatever she was doing and stood close to Ira's side, looking from her sensei to the Daemon with wide eyes. "Due to what?" Sasuke demanded and glared at the wolf. "I'm tired of dancing around this subject Kakashi! What is going on with Naruto?!"

Kakashi sighed and Angard tilted his head to look up at the quickly approaching stars. "Sasuke. I have told you many times, _Naruto has to tell you._ It is not our right," Angard growled. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and felt his sharnigan activate, his vision sharpening ten-fold.

"Make it your right," he whispered lowly and somehow the brunette picked up the threat, his head whipping down and the ice cold of his left eye piercing into what seemed his very soul. "Enough," he said with a chill in his voice. Then his body flickered and the next thing Sasuke knew, Angard was towering before him, an aura of fury radiating off him.

The mere fact that the man had managed to move without Sasuke seeing unnerved the raven. "Enough," Angard said again. "Stop being the nagging child, Sasuke-_chan, _or you will be treated like one. You will find out about Naruto in due time, I have told you this. Many times. But this is it, because the next time you ask, well..."

Sasuke's Uchiha pride stung and Angard's voice trailed off into silence. The raven saw everyone around him standing still as stone and even Kakashi was watching the duo with raptured attention. Ira's lavender eyes were locked on Angard's back and Kunae seemed stiff, like a feline ready to spring. His crimson eyes traveled back to Angard's enraged features.

"I have the _right _to know what's going on with my..." Sasuke paused and grit his teeth. "Your what, Sasuke? Your _what. _You know, you never answered my question to you from earlier. What is Uzumaki Naruto to you, hm?" Again, Sasuke clenched his jaw and could almost feel the eyes of five different people on his face. He swallowed.

"Stop holding back Sasuke," Angard said and the fury drained from his features, the tired old man from earlier surfacing to his eyes once more. A large, warm hand clasped on Sasuke's shoulder and the raven wanted to so, _so _badly shake it off. "You don't have to be an emotionless stature and still be strong, you know. If you care about Naruto, say so. If you care about your team, say so. Love isn't weakness; it's strength."

Pain coursed through Sasuke's chest like a spear.

"I can't take this!" He yelled and finally tore his arm from Angard, leaping away into the dark recluse of the forest surrounding them.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Sasuke's heavy breathing filled his ears as he sprinted through cascading leaves that stuck in his hair and jabbed at his face. _It was to test my strength. _Itachi's voice somehow matched up with an image of Team 7 waiting for him on a red bridge, the sun outlining a single figure. The shortest of the three, who's face suddenly filled his vision as he blew past dying trees.

_Make it stop! _Sasuke cried in his head and his hands reached up to grip at his hair while he ran. Naruto's hitai-ate then crashed from his pocket and the metal of the forehead protector clanged against a stone, the sound resonating in Sasuke's head and in the noise the Uchiha heard Naruto screaming in pain. His feet stopped. Turning automatically, his eyes locked on the blue fabric that stood out against the browns and the reds of the forest floor.

Wanting to reach out for it but unable to, Sasuke's fists clenched at his sides and his eyes suddenly felt dry and wet at the same time. His breath hitched and before he even had time to register what had happened he was on his knees, pressing his face against the grass below him as he used to on the blood-stained floorboards of his abandoned home.

Forced gasps left his lips and water filled his vision, blurring the crystal sharp image of the hitai-ate in front of him, warmth cascading down his cheeks. "I'm...too weak," he whispered to himself. It was always like this! His parents, his clan...his best friend. All gone because he wasn't worth it.

He was never good enough.

All the praise in the world wouldn't matter if he wasn't acknowledged by the two people he held highest in his mind for two reasons: his brother and Naruto. If he couldn't protect his clan from the man he was unfortunately related to or protect the boy whom he considered his closest bond from, well, anything, then what was Uchiha Sasuke?

A failure.

_Bonds are weakness. Love is worthless. Bonds are weakness. Love is worthless. _Another mantra Sasuke continued to repeat as he cried onto the forest floor, the light of a fading moon shining down on his shaking form. His right hand clasped around the hitai-ate before him and warmth spread through his body at the touch, despite the bitter cold he felt inside. "...Sasuke?...Sasuke, are you here?" Kunae's voice called out somewhere to Sasuke's left and he froze.

No-one can see Uchiha Sasuke upset. No-one.

"Sasuke, where are you." Footsteps approached closer and Sasuke attempted to lift his torso up, to stand and wipe his eyes. But it didn't work. "There you are..." Kunae murmured and the brunette knelt down in front of Sasuke. "Sakura wants to talk to you," she said softly and Sasuke felt a hand run through his hair. "Is that alright?" Sasuke didn't respond. He didn't want to deal with Sakura's obsession of him right now.

Or ever, if he could get his way for once in this pathetic existance. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's voice asked somewhere to the Uchiha's right. "Sakura, he's not exactly...er, up to talking right now," Kunae muttered and Sasuke saw her stand up. "That's alright Kunae. Thanks for finding him." "Welcome," the brunette said and Sasuke heard her glide away. "Sasuke-kun...is this about Naruto?" _Yes, _he wanted to say. Scream, even. _It's about Naruto. It's always been about Naruto. _"Sasuke-kun...we'll find him you know..."

Then why was she here concerning herself with him? "Sasuke-kun...I want Naruto back too, you know..." _That's because you like him! _Sasuke screamed in his head. _You don't care about his wellbeing! You selfish...selfish..._"Sasuke-kun, for years I've said I love you and I have. But now...now I..." "Sakura. Stop." Sasuke heard his voice ring out loud and he knelt up to meet the rosette's emerald gaze. "Angard wanted to know what Naruto is to me," he continued quietly.

Sakura listened with baited breath, her hands clasped on her knees and the wind toussling her hair.

An image of Naruto in his strikingly orange kimono blared in Sasuke's head, the blonde smiling as Sasuke took in the image greedily. "Naruto is my most precious person..." Sasuke's eyes widened at his own admission. Sakura blinked. "Sasuke-kun, what do you mean?" She asked softly and bent forward, forcing Sasuke to look at her. "I don't know," he said honestly and looked down at the hitai-ate in his palm. Sakura followed his gaze and her eyes softened.

"I think I do," she murmured and stood, offering her hand to Sasuke. He ignored it and stood on his own, the wind rushing through his hair and drying his cheeks of the tears that had fallen from his eyes. And as they walked back to the encampment he saw the telltale flash of heartbreak in Sakura's eyes.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

"Welcome back," Kakashi drawled as the two genin shuffled into the clearing, a fire crackling merrily where the giant rock that Kunae had perched on previously stood. The Jounin took in Sasuke's debris-covered clothes and Sakura's blank expression and his eye narrowed. "Anything you two want to tell me?" The wolf said carefully and stepped in front of them. "We're fine Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said politely. Sasuke nodded and looked around for the three Daemons.

Kunae and Ira were close to the fire, an odd piece of paper that glowed yellow floating in front of them and the two girls murmured back and forth to one another, pointing to places on the sheet and waving their hands. Angard sat the farthest away from the fire, his eyes cast in shadows as he focused on the task he had been a few nights ago of carving his shackles into small spear points.

The Daemon looked up as Sasuke approached him. His mismatched eyes blinked and he stood gracefully, again towering over Sasuke's form. "Do you have an answer?" He asked. Sasuke nodded slowly. "Let me hear it." Sasuke swallowed. "Naruto...Naruto is my...my most precious person..." Angard's eyes widened, and then a grin broke out on his mouth. "I knew you could do it kid," he laughed and pulled Sasuke into a rough embrace, to which the raven protested loudly.

"I see Sasuke broke out of his shell," Ira commented and Sasuke shot her a pointed glare. She laughed. "Alright," Angard said and finally released Sasuke out of the hold, the Uchiha spluttering and gasping for air. "Now you two, have you figured out a way to get into the Decieved's base?" He pointed at the paper floating in front of the sisters. Kunae nodded. "Er, somewhat, actually," the brunette stated and waved hef hand towards the map, gesturing for the two to come look.

Sasuke approached and once the paper was in his line of sight he saw what seemed to be a forest from a bird's-eye view, the tree tops shining in sunlight. There were also creatures that Sasuke couldn't identify weaving in and out of the trunks, and he assumed they were hellhounds and griffins as he caught sight of a red pelt bristling with fire. Further away from the creatures and towards the center of the map was a large clearing, where an obsidian boulder sat sparkling in the fake sunlight.

"That's an Activation Stone," Ira stated and pointed to the rock Sasuke was staring at. "One must possess a special kind of blood in order to move it...one who is the last of their family." Sasuke's eyes narrowed instantly. "As for the hellhounds and griffins...it'll be easy to take them out. It's the curse binds I'm worried about." Kunae looked over at Sasuke. "The Wolf Child told us of your Cursed Seal," she said softly. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

Sasuke nodded tentatively, unsure of what the Daemon wanted to do. As she moved around the fire a pale blue glow enveloped her left hand and she stopped next to his left shoulder, where the evil chakra throbbed in his skin. "This might sting a little, but I'm just looking at it," she murmured and her left hand passed over the mark gently. A hiss escaped his lips as his skin seemed to boil under the touch and Ira looked at him sympathetically.

"The human who placed this upon you has no concept of what that mark contains," she murmured and the tattoo burned again. "Not only will it contain his own chakra, which I'm assuming is bad enough, it also holds within it the evil of demons." The blow haze surrounded Kunae's hand strengthened and there was a tugging sensation around Sasuke's neck. Then there was a jolt and a flash of light and the next thing Sasuke knew he was laying on his back, Kunae unconscious next to him.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" Angard's voice asked through what seemed to be a heavy blanket. He groaned in reply and turned his head to see smoke rising from his shoulder. Pulling high collar aside, he saw nothing but red skin where the black ink of the Cursed Seal had been moments before. His mind felt clearer and his body seemed lighter as he attempted to stand.

"I think so," he replied and Angard gripped his arm to give the raven support. Kunae shifted on the ground and Ira knelt by her side, the purple in her eyes flashing and a light grey aura covering the two. "I didn't expect Kunae to remove the seal from you," Angard said while Kakashi and Sakura rushed to his side. "Although I understand why. You see, the curse binds are sort of like that seal of yours, where it holds all that is dark and evil about Daemons.

"If you had passed through the lines with that seal, all that hatred and evil would have focused in on you like a magnet. It would have easily corrupted or killed you. As it is Daemons have a hard time passing through a barrier like that. A human suffering that pain would most likely go insane if they survived." Sasuke felt dizzy as he nodded and Angard continued. "The plan we drew up while you and Kunae were unconscious is simple: Kunae and I will take care of the hellhounds and griffins, while you and your team along with Ira go to the Activation Stone.

"Ira was right when she said it takes the blood of a desceased lineage to move the stone. So that means you...Sasuke. So once you move the stone, you will have minutes before the Decieved know there are people within their stronghold. And a Daemon. So you have to move fast to find Naruto. Once you do you get him out of there and him only. I don't care if you see a horde of humans burning to death, you get the hell out of there," the brunette finished and brushed strands of hair from his face.

Sasuke nodded. "When do we go?" He asked. "Two weeks from now. You three need to come with us to a special place we like to call the Underworld."

* * *

After this chapter things are going to pick up a little. In case you haven't noticed the chapter names are based off of moon phases, so I have no idea what I'm going to do after I run out of phases...lol. But anyways, I probably won't take as long updating this time. See you soon! :3


	10. Waning Crescent Moon

Waning Crescent Moon

* * *

Sasuke gaped at Angard, as did Sakura and Kakashi tensed by his side. "The Underworld? Why?" the Jounin demanded and stepped forward, the green of his vest flashing in the corner of the Uchiha's eye. "Because," Angard began, his face shadowed by the light of the fire and the brown of his right eye seeming almost black. "All three of you need a Mark in order to bypass a possible security layer in the Decieved's base."

"If it's only possible why bother going through the precaution? Why not just go in and grab Naruto?" Sasuke asked, taking the attitude of "living in the moment" and completely forgoing the worry Angard expressed. The Daemon sighed and shook his head. "Because if you don't have that Mark and if the layer _is _there then you would be burned to a crisp. In fact, not even that. You would be _gone. _Not even a speck of dust to prove your existance."

Sakura swallowed nervously. "But...why so long?" She asked and scooted slightly closer to Sasuke. The raven growled and tried to move away but was met with a wall known as Kakashi's arm. Angard looked down at her and seemed to scowl in annoyance. "Humans need to pass a test in order to recieve it," he muttered and his hand twitched. "Daemons recieve it when we reach a certain age. Personally I find the law to be irrelevant, but it's the way it is. With your shinobi training it shouldn't be too difficult...besides, your sensei already has the Mark."

"Huh?" Sakura asked and Sasuke looked up at Kakashi with an eyebrow arched. The Jounin sighed and looked down at his pupils, the shadows of the fire covering the visible portion of his face as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "When Kunae and Ira were...ah, _visiting, _they had my team and I go and take the test. It is tedious...but it shouldn't be any worse than the Forest of Death." Sasuke shivered as he remembered the horrors of that place.

Sakura nodded. "But why three weeks?" She asked and Sasuke nodded. "Because it takes two weeks to get to the Underworld," Angard explained and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why is it so long," he hissed and crossed his arms, anxious to get going because the faster they got this damn thing done the sooner they could get to Naruto, where the blonde would be safe in his arms..._what?_

"You won't remember the trip," Angard said and looked to his sisters, and Sasuke followed his gaze to where Kunae still lay unconscious with Ira by her side, the blonde's lavender eyes narrowed in concentration while her hands hovered over her sister's forehead, a red orb in her left palm. "It's like going to sleep and dreaming. Our bodies need to...transform and adapt to the Underworld's surroundings. Especially you three. So it will seem like we go there instantly but in reality our bodies are changing drastically and that takes a long time."

A twinge of guilt struck Sasuke as he saw the brunette still out cold from her removal of his Cursed Seal, and he grimaced at the feel of the emotion. "Will she be okay?" he asked curtly and nodded in Ira and Kunae' direction. Angard's gaze darkened. "She's never been out for this long," he muttered and looked at Kakashi. "Who gave Sasuke that seal?" The brunette asked and Sakura shivered, probably at the memory. Sasuke did too. "Orochimaru," Kakashi muttered and Sasuke heard the touch of anger in the Jounin's voice.

Angard sucked in a breath sharply and his body coiled like an angry feline. "That snake bastard?" He hissed slowly and glowered towards Kunae. "His Cursed Seals are different from anything my sister has experienced..." "What do you mean?" Sakura asked innocently with fear in her jade eyes. "Orochimaru infuses not only his chakra and the ink, but an evil power that is supposed to not be of the Overworld into his seals. Somehow he has managed to get some and it was in Sasuke's Seal."

_But what does that have to do with Kunae? _Sasuke wondered as he watched the two sisters beside the now dying fire, the pale light of the moon slowly washing into the clearing. "That power is poison to Daemons," Angard continued lowly and his brow furrowed in worry. "So if she took that out of Sasuke..." Kakashi began. "And put it into herself, then..." "We have to get to the Underworld, fast," Angard muttered and looked at the three shinobi. "Gather your things. We leave in ten minutes."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded before silently pacing to where they had dumped their personal items, the raven stuffing the articles of clothing he had into his tan pack roughly, Naruto's hitai-ate jolting in his pocket and the metal sliding around against the cloth. He grimaced as he remembered the outburst from earlier and rubbed at his eyes irritably as they became dry once more. Sakura seemed to notice and he saw her look at him sympathetically, then her eyes hardened and she glanced away apathetically, placing the purple pouch Ira had given her into a small side pocket of her own backpack.

Confused, Sasuke zipped up his bag and sling it over his shoulder, walking over to where Kakashi stood next to Ira, who now held Kunae cradled in her arms with a sad and sober expression on her face. "Hawk-child," the blonde said and nodded in Sasuke's direction as he approached, then turned her head to Sakura, who was stepping lightly to her. "Emerald Eyes," the blonde said a little more kindly...but Sasuke assumed that was because an evil thing that had previously inhibited _him _was now rampaging in her sister.

But he didn't feel sorry for Kunae or anything. Why would he do that?

"Ira..." Angard said lowly from behind the Uchiha and he looked up to see Ira's eyes suddenly a burning red much like the Sharnigan, her pupils even more slitted and resembling a snake as she looked at her sister. "They won't let Kunae into the Underworld," she spat and threw her arms up to the air in anger. Sasuke saw the red orb from earlier floating by Ira's head and Sakura grasped his arm tightly, and he noticed that he was edging closer to Kunae's unmoving body. He looked at her thankfully and returned her eyes to the blonde. "They believe she is..." She said something that sounded like a cross between a hiss and a growl that Sasuke didn't understand and she continued to speak in the strange tongue for a few monents before fading to silence. Angard inhaled sharply and Sasuke heard him step up behind him, his boots scuffing in the dirt.

Will they allow you access to the medicine?" he asked. "No. Apparently Kunae and I are 'fugitives' now and unworthy of treatment," Ira snarled. "Then I will retrieve the medicine while Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke take the test," Angard said soothingly and stepped around the two genin in his way to place his right hand on his sister's shoulder. "We'll be back in three weeks. Take her to Konoha in the meantime, and tell the Hokage that I'm taking team 7 for a bit. Don't let them know of Naruto's...predicament," he continued and Ira sighed, shutting her eyes.

"Yes, brother," she said tiredly after a moment and opened her eyes again, the irises once more a deep lavender. Sasuke released a breath that he was unaware that he was holding and Sakura seemed to do the same while Kakashi appeared behind the two siblings, barely visible in the shadows. "Ready to go?" The Jounin asked with his hand behind his head. Angard nodded. The Daemon looked to Ira once more and the blue in his left eye seemed to flash. "Thank you," the blonde in front of him said quietly and she looked to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Good luck," she murmured and Sasuke blinked in surprise. "Especially you, Hawk-child...I've foreseen what will happen to the Fox-child, and you, if you don't succeed now." Sasuke swallowed nervously and Angard waved his hand at Sasuke and Sakura, signaling for them to come join himself and Kakashi on the edge of the clearing. The brunette held a scroll in his left hand and Kakashi was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of him, lounging back with his eyes on the stars.

"Sit next to Kakashi," Angard commanded and the two genin did as ordered, copying their sensei and Sasuke glowered irritably at being told so forcefully. The brunette unraveled the sheet of paper and lowered it to the ground, where Sasuke saw a series of complicated swirls and flourishes of ink, accompanied by the Whirlpool symbol in the middle of the paper. "Place your hands on the paper," Angard said and Team 7 did as told. The Daemon then bit the palm of his hand hard enough to bleed and held it, hovering, over the Uzumaki clan mark.

"Remember, this journey will take two weeks," Angard warned. "And your bodies will appear more mature in the Underworld." "Hai," Sakura said in agreement and switched to sitting cross-legged, fidgeting nervously. "Hn," Sasuke stated and looked at the blood dripping onto the paper. _You better be okay, Naruto..._Angard lowered his hand to the paper until his skin was brushing the ink below it. And then a searing pain arched through the Uchiha's spine and his last coherent thought was of Naruto whispering against the flame of a candle before everything went black.

* * *

"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned wordlessly and sat up slowly, his bones aching in protest and his eyes squeezed shut. He seemed to be laying on a soft mattress, a light blanket enveloping his form- which seemed much longer and felt more fluid - and he fingered the silky material with his eyes still closed. Then he flicked his eyes open to see a room light by a dim red light that originated from an orb of the same color hovering in the corner to his right, where a plant with odd blue leaves and black berries hanging off of the branches was set next to a high arching wooden door. There was a breeze that ruffled his hair and he turned to see glassless windows lining the wall infrequently behind him, the holes covered by criss-crossing slender branches.

He brought a hand to his face to rub his eyes and saw that his palm seemed bigger than before. Not that he spent his time studying his hands, but it seemed...different. Shrugging off the feeling, he rubbed the rest of tiredness out of his eyes and flung the blanket off his body, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, where a red wood table occupied the side, and stood, again feeling a difference in height. Now confused, the raven appraised the rest of the room, which held a tall wardrobe of the same color as the bedside table and a small bookshelf, set next to a smaller, but still highly arched, maple door with a heavy-looking brass loop handle.

There was an odd weight around Sasuke's middle that the raven questioned at, but he strode forward to the smaller door and grasped the loop, which was actually pretty light, and pulled, the door swinging open effortlessly to reveal a high-ceiling bathroom covered in deep blue tiles on the floor and walls, the ceiling a pale white and the entire space lit by a glowing white orb hovering near the top of the room. There was what appeared to be a bathtub with a steaming waterfall flowing a constant flow of liquid into the basin and a shower set on the opposite wall, casted out of what appeared to be black marble with white trimming on the corners.

A gleaming white toilet was set in a corner and opposite of it was what appeared to be a sink, but Sasuke couldn't tell because it seemed that the basin almost grew into a tree trunk of stone, the white marble arching and curving like trees seemed to do with gilded taps on either side of the large object. A large half circle mirror was placed above the sink and Sasuke went to it, turning a knob and watching the water flow out of a valve, lukewarm as he placed his hands in it and cupped them to collect the water and splash it on his face. He stood like this for a while, simply splashing his face with the soothingly warm water, and then he looked up to the mirror to meet his reflection.

Then he gasped and leapt back.

The man standing in the mirror _surely _couldn't be Uchiha Sasuke, could he?! Sasuke raised his arm and the image copied the movement, and he assumed it was true, unless this was a genjutsu and he somehow didn't notice. The tall, slender figure wore a high-collared grey shirt that was half-way zipped to reveal part of his chest, and a strange blue-purple garment covered his waist and was held up by a purple Shimenawa which was tied into a loose knot by his legs, which were covered by slightly baggy grey pants to his sandals, which he couldn't see but he could feel that they were open in the heel.

His hair was slightly longer and shaggier in the back, losing some of the styled quality from before- not that Sasuke had ever styled his hair in the past, it just somehow appeared that way, much to his dismay - while his face was slimmer and more angled, his chin pointed and his nose more narrow. His eyes were sharper as well, and they now appeared to be a stormy grey instead of pure black. His hitai-ate was missing from his forehead and as he turned to look at his back in the glass he saw the Uchiha crest stitched into his shirt and a katana sheath stuck into the purple rope around his waist.

"What...is this?" He whispered and noticed his voice was slightly deeper. He reached behind himself and unsheathed the weapon on his waist, the metal gleaming and shining coldly in the light of the orb above him. Swinging it in front of himself, the raven found himself effortlessly moving throughout the room, twirling the katana in ways he didn't recognize and with a technique and grace he didn't remember himself learning.

But he liked it.

Dodging an imaginary attack, Sasuke spun counter-clockwise and stabbing the katana forward into where his foe's abdomen would have been had he have existed, then the blade suddenly crackled and there was the sound of a thousand chirping birds that signal a Chidori. Yelping, Sasuke dropped the weapon and the metal crashed to the floor, clanging loudly, the lightning fading out of existance. He hesitantly bent and picked up his sword, examining it closely and now attempting to channel his chakra into the steel. Again, the lightning formed and the blade crackled a light blue, illuminating Sasuke's face.

"Interesting..." Sasuke muttered and thrust the katana back into its sheath behind himself and exited the bathroom, entering the dim red room once more. There was a yellow sheet of paper on the bed (that had a high canopy hanging over it) and was freshly made. _"Sasuke. Sakura is awaiting you in the room adjacent of yours. Kakashi and I have an errand to run. I'm sure you are curious as to your transformation, and I shall explain once I get back. If you need anything, just touch the orb in the corner and state what it is you desire. _

_-Angard."_

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and glanced to the object Angard had stated and in response the sphere seemed to shudder in mid-air. He shrugged and flung the note to the floor before striding to the other door and again finding it very easy to open and stepped into a plain hallway, similar windows from his bedroom covering the walls and dark wooden benches placed in between the intervals of the gaps on one wall. He looked to his left and right and saw that the hall curved around into it vanished from sight, doors covering that side of the hallway.

Assuming Sakura wanted to see him, the Uchiha went to the room Angard had indicated and knocked once, curtly. There was a shuffling on the other side of the thick wood and then the sound of metal striking leather, then the door open and Sasuke again gaped at the sight before him.

Sakura also seemed taller, but shorter at the same time since Sasuke too seemed to have grown. Her hair was chopped short and her bangs arched over her forehead gracefully, her eyes sharper and seemingly greener, if possible. A red hitai-ate was tied into a headband in the middle of her pink hair. Her red dress was gone, a remnant found in her top, which retained a Chinese style of dress, while her skirt ended at the top of her thighs and her hands were covered by slim black gloves. She wore high sandals, which almost appeared to have wedges, and she had a kunai pouch tied to her right leg and as she turned to look behind he Sasuke saw the Haruno symbol on her back and a tan pouch at her waist.

The rosette glanced back at Sasuke and smiled shyly. "You look...good, Sasuke-kun," she said quietly. "You as well," Sasuke said, impressed by how, well, _bad-ass _Sakura appeared to be. Of course, he wasn't stricken in any sort of romantic way, but the way she looked now was utterly shocking, considering the "good-girl" vibe the kunochi had given off before. She stepped aside and gestured for Sasuke to enter, and the room was almost the same as his own, except a full-length mirror occupied the front of the bathroom door and the room was bathed in a soft gold glow. Two chairs and a table were set in the middle of the room and Sakura sat down in the one facing the bed. Sasuke followed suit and sat with his arms crossed across from his teammate.

She sighed and leaned back. "This place is beautiful," Sakura said simply. Sasuke tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You haven't looked outside yet?" She asked and the raven nodded. "Oh. Well, later. Right now Angard told me we have to sit here and wait for him and Kakashi-sensei to return." Sasuke rolled his eyes and he found a scroll lying near him. "Guess we have to wait then," he drawled and unraveled the paper, where unfamiliar characters met his eyes which then morphed into familiar kanji and apparently detailed a historical battle in Daemon history.

"Yeah," Sakura said in reply and reached for her own scroll, while Sasuke let his eyes and mind drift over the parchment, where one line in particular disturbed him.

_Humans flee and demons run when the boy with golden hair, adorned with whiskers thrice is sacrificed for the good of all._

* * *

Hehe! Yes, Sasuke and Sakura's outfits are from the current manga arc, so I'm trying to incorporate the current, well, everything since I'm writing this story in the pre-time skip time period. Also, eventually I will be writing a one-shot about everyone's journey to the underworld (minus Angard 'cause he's done it hundreds of times and Kakashi 'cause...I don't have a reason) because there is one, but it goes by too fast for anyone to remember it. Anyways, tbc! aaaaaaand, happy Forever Alone Day! (Valentine's Day for those lucky ducks in a relationship :p)


	11. Dawn

Dawn

* * *

"I'm bored," Sakura drawled and placed her scroll on the table lightly, leaning back in her seat and staring at Sasuke, who looked up from his own reading with an arched eyebrow. "And you expect me to do something about it?" The raven replied simply and returned his eyes to the parchment. "Let's go look around. Angard said this is his clan's estate and there aren't a lot of people around right now."

"Go on your own," Sasuke replied. "I'm busy." "Sasuke-kun..." The Uchiha felt his eye twitch and the urge to throttle Sakura rose once more. "Why do you need me to go with you," he growled without looking up. There was the sound of wood scraping on carpet and then Sakura was standing by his side, leaning down so her short pink bangs brushed his nose. "'Cause I don't want to go alone," the rosette admitted.

"You just said there's hardly anyone around," Sasuke reminded his teammate and tried to move his head away from her hair to read around her presence. "Look Sasuke-kun, if Naruto were here I'd ask him instead of you because I know you don't like 'pointless' things like exploring. But please? I would really appreciate it if you came along instead of holing up in a room all day."

Sasuke sighed in exasperation and raised his head to meet Sakura's stern emerald gaze, both teammates narrowing their eyes in a silent glaring match. "What happened to bowing down to my every word?" The raven eventually asked and broke the tense silence between the two. Sakura looked down and mumbled something unintelligible and brushed at her hair with her hand.

"I realized acting like a mindless fangirl isn't going to get your attention, Sasuke-kun," the kunochi began and Sasuke blinked. "And I need to get stronger anyways, to protect myself and the people I care about. Like Naruto.." Sakura trailed off into silence and her eyes hardened, appearing like she was trying not to cry. Sasuke tried to ignore the pity that was pressing against his lips.

"...Fine," he grumbled and pushed his chair back, rising and placing his scroll next to Sakura's and ambled to the door, where he flung it open and stalked into the hallway before turning and crossing his arms over his chest. Sakura soon followed and shut her door behind herself, striding to where Sasuke waited. "So where should we start?" Sakura asked and mimicked the raven in front of her, glancing to the left and right.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and looked down. Sakura sighed and uncrossed her arms, poking a finger into the Uchiha's chest. "Can you at least _pretend _to be interested? I get it, you're doing this to make me shut up Sasuke-kun. But please, act like you care. Pretend we're on a reconnaissance mission or something, but just get involved..." Sasuke closed his eyes and counted to ten silently, then twenty just to be safe.

_I'm going to regret this..._he thought and groaned out loud. "Okay," he muttered and Sakura's face lit up in a bright grin. "Thank you Sasuke-kun!" She said happily and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's torso, to which the raven protested and tried to shove her off. The rosette laughed and stepped back, blushing lightly. "Sorry," she apologized. "Guess I sort of over-reacted, yeah?" "Tch," Sasuke coughed irritably and looked to his right. "Let's go this way," he mumbled and stepped in that direction.

Sakura's wedged sandals clacked on the smooth stone floor after Sasuke as he led the way down the corridor, which was made out of an odd smooth red stone and seemed to create a light of it's own as the raven and his teammate made their way past doors and windows to meet a high arched doorway that seemed to lead to a courtyard. Sasuke stepped outside and was met with a warm breeze on his face, brushing his long bangs from his eyes.

The clearing's floor was made of jagged pieces of cobblestone, fit together like an odd puzzle with bits of red grass growing between the cracks. An old fountain was the centerpiece of the area, with clumps of moss growing over the edge of the basins. Bushes of midnight black leaves lined the area, where the walls they were set by had more of the windows covered by twigs facing into the space. Sasuke looked up and didn't see a sky, which unnerved him.

Instead, it seemed that this entire world was under the earth; high, high above his head was a cover of more red brick, stalactites hanging down like raindrops just barely in his view. Sakura stepped behind him and followed his gaze upward. "Told you it was beautiful," she murmured and Sasuke nodded in agreement. "You said this was Angard's clan's estate, correct?" He asked softly and looked at Sakura.

"Yeah," she replied and walked forward to brush her gloved hand against the old stone of the fountain. "His family must be really wealthy," she noted as she examined the rock. "And old." "Yeah..." The courtyard reminded Sasuke of the Uchiha Complex, when it was inhabited of course. Clan member's large estates often had small clearings like this, and the few children that had been around when Sasuke was that age would often come to places like this to play out of the adults' watchful eyes.

"Let's keep going," he eventually ordered and stepped around the fountain and Sakura, who followed behind as he went to the opposite archway into another hallway, but now there were three figures bustling about in the corridor with brooms in their hands. One looked up, his hazel eyes meeting Sasuke's and his brown hair streaked with orange shifted around his forehead. "Ah...you two must be Master Uchiha and Mistress Haruno," the man spoke respectfully and his two companions looked up, one a male with blonde hair and another a woman with red hair.

Both of their eyes were a dull grey, Sasuke noticed as he looked at them cautiously. "Um...just 'Sakura' and 'Sasuke' are fine..." Sakura mumbled from over Sasuke's shoulder and the raven nodded in agreement. The female shook her head and her eyes looked at a point just past Sasuke's elbow. "You are Master Angard's esteemed guests. You are deserving of such respect, Master and Mistress," she said and bowed, the other two following suit.

Sasuke tried to keep a disgusted look off of his face. He got this kind of "respect" enough at home and he certainly didn't want to deal with it here, with people he didn't even recognize. He stepped forward and pointed at the brunette man with the yellow eyes. "Well then..." he said lowly. "I order you to address my teammate and I as 'Sasuke' and 'Sakura'." A shiver ran through all three of the servant's bodies. "Yes...Sasuke," the man said slowly. "Yes Sasuke," the other two replied mindlessly, their grey eyes still not quite focusing on any one point.

"What's wrong with them?" Sakura whispered in Sasuke's ear and he scowled. "You expect me to know?" He hissed back and noticed the brunette staring at him, eyes warm with amusement. "Master Angard did not tell you?" He said and smiled, brushing at the ground with his broom. "We are the Damned. The ones not worthy of Heaven and cursed to an eternity of servitude to the dark ones." "Demons?" Sasuke asked and the boy nodded. "As well as Daemons," he finished and the two behind him returned to their activities. "I am Consecro," the brunette said politely after an uncomfortable silence. "It means 'Cursed' in Latin. Ironic, hm?" Sasuke stared.

"And the other two?" The raven asked and indicated the boy and girl behind Consecro, who were now scrubbing at the floor with soapy water and rags, their simple black ropes dripping and covered in bubbles. Consecro smiled sadly. "They have been here for so long their identities have been forgotten," he said. "Even they probably do not remember. Eventually they'll just...fade away. All of us are waiting for that to happen as well, but we will continue to serve for many centuries more..." Sakura made a sickened sound. Consecro looked at her and beamed. "Do not look so disturbed, Sakura," the brunette said happily.

"Those of us who serve the Ignatis clan are treated very well. I would probably feel sorry for those in the Quary. That place...is like a hell within hell." Consecro bowed and fastened the black cloth belt that held his white robe tighter around his waist. "If you'll excuse us, we have to clean this sector before Master Angard returns..." The woman murmured from the floor, which seemed spotless enough to Sasuke but she continued to pick at a particular spot over and over. "Of course," Sasuke said hesitantly and stepped around the three servants. As they padded down the corridor and the sound of scratchy brushing on rock faded, Sasuke released a pent out breath.

"That was..." He said slowly, trying to find the right word while Sakura walked by his right shoulder. "Strange?" The rosette offered. "Disturbing? Awful?" Sasuke nodded. "Having to be a slave for eternity...was that what Angard meant by suffering?" Sakura continued and the duo stopped in front of a set of double doors guarded by a pair of identically bald men wearing the same outfit as Conserco; a white robe tied around the middle with a black belt and black slippers. The two bowed while Sasuke and Sakura approached. "Master Sasuke, Mistress Sakura," they murmured in unison.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but complied as he pushed the heavy doors inward to reveal a massive dining hall, a table made of dark mahogony surrounded by high backed chairs made of red oak gilded with gold marks and a massive fireplace on the other side facing Sasuke and Sakura, a warm flame crackling merrily in its depths. Atop the stone was a large shield colored a royal blue, and what seemed to be phoenix was carved in white marble in the center.

Sakura noticed a door on the wall adjacent to the fireplace and tapped Sasuke on the shoulder, pointing at the object. "Wanna go there?" She asked. Sasuke nodded and they maneuvered past bustling servants and chairs, until someone ran head first into Sasuke's chest. Exclaiming a curse, the raven stumbled back and he felt his sharnigan activate in his rage at the clumsy obstacle in his path. Sakura had managed to leap out of the collision path and stood watching the Uchiha with wide eyes, standing in a pose ready for battle in case he tried to maul the person laying on the floor in front of him.

Which he very much felt like doing.

The object of Sasuke's destructive attitude was a boy who appeared to be twelve or thirteen years of age, bright blonde hair framing his face. He blinked his eyes open, their color a shimmering blue that twinkled with mischief. His torso was covered by a black and red high-collared vest and he wore baggy black pants tied at the ankles by black tape. Sasuke stared at the blonde, his heart aching as a resemblance began to show. In fact, this boy was almost so much like Naruto, minus the odd marks on his cheeks, that Sasuke would have punched the kid right there and yell some obscure insult that he didn't really mean if he knew any better.

"Ah, ah, sorry," the boy chuckled and scratched the back of his head. Sasuke winced and he noticed Sakura do the same. "Watch where you're going," the raven muttered and stepped around the boy's mass to Sakura, who was shivering in either fear, rage, or sorrow. The blonde stood and looked at the two with a questioning stare. "Wait a minute, _you _watch where you're going!" He exclaimed and pointed an accusitory finger at Sasuke, who's eyes narrowed at the familiar gesture. "And who are you to act like Naruto," he hissed lowly and the boy raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that?" He asked and stood, brushing nonexistant dirt from his arms and back. "My name's Dracyl. This Naruto should feel lucky he can be compared to me!" Draycl puffed his chest out proudly. Sasuke looked at Sakura and she returned the stare, her eyes with disbelief. "Master Draycl!" A feminine voice called from Sasuke's right and his head swiveled to see a woman with black hair tied into a tight bun and dressed in black robes bustling towards them. Her face paled as she saw Sakura and Sasuke.

"Oh! Oh, I...I am so sorry you had to s-see him," she stammered out and grabbed Draycl by the shoulders, the latter protesting quite loudly to the treatment and proceeded to drag him towards the double doors Sasuke and Sakura had entered in. "Master Angard can explain, b-but I...I'm sorry!" She called as she carried the struggling Draycl out of the doorway. Sakura breathed in sharply. "That was...weird," she commented slowly, as if her brain was moving at the speed of a snail. Sasuke's didn't feel like working very much either. "Hn..."

The encounter disturbed him. Draycl had been so much like Naruto it took his breath away, and if someone had drawn three lines on the blonde's cheeks Sasuke would be dealing with Naruto 2.0, reminding him of the fact that the _real _Naruto was probably suffering somewhere in the Overworld...for reasons the raven still didn't understand. _This is insane, _he grumbled in his mind and forced his legs to move towards the door like before. "Come on Sakura," he called over his shoulder and proceeded to throw the door in front of him open to reveal a dim room filled with floating orbs.

His sharnigan faded as he gazed at the rainbow of spheres hovering around him, and Sakura squeezed by his side and gasped loudly at the sight. An orange orb the color of Naruto's ridiculous jacket floated past Sasuke's eyes and he reached out to grab it, the object fairly warm and energy pulsating from it in waves. An idea occurred to him as he recalled Angard's note. "Show me where Naruto is," he demanded forcefully and heard Sakura exclaim "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?!" but ignored her question.

The orange in the orb shimmered and seemed to shift like mist to the out edges of the sphere, the middle beginning to become foggy. Then there was a wordless shout that erupted from Sasuke's hand. "Give it to us!" A deep, cold voice nearly screamed out and then Sasuke was looking upon a circular cave from high up onto a stone table surrounded by nine candles, a white chalk line connecting each pillar of wax to the slab. One man for each candle stood huddled around the table, and one more man dressed in complete black, his head covered by a hood, stood above a figure chained to the table with a silver sickle dripping with blood in their hand.

Sasuke's gaze travelled to the person on the table and he snarled at the sight. Blonde hair hung low over shut eyes, blood covering the familiar whiskered cheeks. Heavy breathing left his mouth in gasps and the shackles holding him to the table shivered with the force he was exerting against them. "Naruto!" Sakura's voice said dimly somewhere to Sauke's right, but he ignored it. The sickle came down on Naruto's arm and blood spurted from the wound like a river. "Deliver the Kyuubi to us, Fox Child..." The hooded man whispered.

Then he seemed to look up and straight into Sasuke's eyes. The raven hovered, wide-eyed, as he saw that the man's entire eye, both of them, were pure black. Like looking into a tunnel with light...those terrifying orbs narrowed, and then Sasuke was back in the rainbow filled room. Sakura gasped and Sasuke assumed she had been pushed back as well. "Naruto..." the rosette whispered, then there was the dull sound of a body slamming to the floor. Sasuke shivered but remained where he was, blankly staring at the orb in his palm.

_I'm going to kill him, _he thought dangerously as the image of Naruto, laying bloodied and broken on that slab, filled his head. "I'm going to kill that man!" He yelled and threw the orb at the opposite wall, the object stopping just before impact and rejoining its companions in their strange orbit. _Deliver the Kyuubi to us..._the horrible creature's voice rang in Sasuke's ears and he froze as he was about to draw his katana and swing it at the nearest orb. "The Kyuubi..." He whispered, and then something inside him clicked._  
_

The stuffed fox. The angry stares of the villagers. Kakashi's refusal to discuss anything to do with Naruto. Naruto's loneliness. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt the pure shock course through him as he realized his best friend's, his...his...he didn't even know what Naruto was, but as he stood there following orange orb Naruto's secret unfolded before him.

_Naruto is the Kyuubi's Jinchūriki!_


	12. Sunrise

Sunrise

* * *

_Previously..._

_**I'm going to kill him,**__ he thought dangerously as the image of Naruto, laying bloodied and broken on that slab, filled his head. "I'm going to kill that man!" He yelled and threw the orb at the opposite wall, the object stopping just before impact and rejoining its companions in their strange orbit. __**Deliver the Kyuubi to us...**__the horrible creature's voice rang in Sasuke's ears and he froze as he was about to draw his katana and swing it at the nearest orb. "The Kyuubi..." He whispered, and then something inside him clicked._

_The stuffed fox. The angry stares of the villagers. Kakashi's refusal to discuss anything to do with Naruto. Naruto's loneliness. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt the pure shock course through him as he realized his best friend's, his...his...he didn't even know what Naruto was, but as he stood there following orange orb Naruto's secret unfolded before him._

**_Naruto is the Kyuubi's Jinchūriki!_**

* * *

Sasuke stood, frozen to his spot while his mind slowly worked through the revelation he had just made. _Naruto..._Sasuke shivered as everything he had seen happen to Naruto suddenly made sense. Then there was a stir of air next to his left leg and he remembered he was not alone in this rainbow room and glanced down to see Sakura's broken body crumpled by his side, her short hair splayed around her face and tiny orbs of light shifting around her head before zipping off to join their brethren in orbit.

Sasuke could barely remember ever feeling so helpless as Naruto's scream of pain rang in his ears. In fact, the only time he had ever felt so weak was when he had cried with his face pressed against the blood-stained floorboards of his abandoned home all those years ago. Back when he had vowed vengeance upon the man who had ruined everything that night...

But there was something that bothered Sasuke. A need to, not kill Itachi, but to protect Naruto. An urge that disturbed the raven; after all, he _had _vowed when he was seven years old to kill his brother, an odd promise for a child to make but Sasuke had stuck to it with religious zeal for five years and now he was not sure what to do because the hole that was in his heart because of his family's absence seemed to be slowly healing.

Team 7 was never meant to mean anything to Sasuke. Sakura and Naruto weren't supposed to seem like siblings, Kakashi wasn't _supposed _to seem like a wayward uncle. Naruto wasn't supposed to be Sasuke's most precious person and he most certainly shouldn't be concerning Sasuke now but...to Sasuke...

Team 7 was his family. And he hated them for it.

Being here, in the Underworld, wasn't getting the raven anywhere close to killing Itachi! He was wasting his time here at the expense of that goal...Sasuke breathed in the cool air and knelt in front of his teammate, adjusting her limbs into a slightly more comfortable position and looking at her before raising his head to watch the colorful spheres dance high above his head near the ceiling. Sasuke wanted so badly to kill Itachi still; the urge to avenge his clan _would _always be there. It was just something he had lived with for so long and he couldn't part with it now.

But in all honesty, he had barely even known anyone in his clan well enough besides his mother and brother to feel any real affection towards the clan itself. And right now, he was here for a reason. To save Naruto. "Someone help me..." Sasuke whispered and lowered his head so his bangs were covering his eyes and placed his palms over his face, that helpless feeling washing over him again. No-one answered his desperate plea, despite the raven knowing there wouldn't but it would have been nice to hear a reassuring voice telling him what to do.

To Sasuke, he had a choice to make in this moment. Itachi or Naruto; which were more important to him? He couldn't answer. He sat like this for a while, curled in on himself with his head in his hands and eyes squeezed shut until the creak of wood against stone brought him out of his suffering. "...Sasuke?" Angard's voice called out in slight surprise. Sasuke didn't acknowledge the brunette even after footsteps entered the room and the door shut behind him, but he did raise his head to see Angard take a seat in front of him and take Sakura's head into his lap.

The Daemon reached into a pouch on his hip and pulled out a silver flask, popping the cap and parting Sakura's lips while tilting her head back, then placing the lid of the container to the kunochi's lips and a clear red fluid rushed down her throat. Sasuke took in Angard's appearance while the situation unfolded; the brunette still had his hair tied into a ponytail, and he wore a low-collared sleeveless green shirt which exposed a tattoo much like the one Sasuke had seen on Ira's leg on his right arm, representing an ivy branch that twirled down Angard's shoulder all the way to the base of his wrist.

The brunette wore loose black pants held up by a white rope belt and high brown boots the color of his right eye. Angard placing the flask back into the pouch on his side brought Sasuke's attention away from the man's attire and to his eyes, which were watching the raven expectantly. "...You asked to see Naruto, didn't you," the brunette muttered softly and placed Sakura back onto the ground. Sasuke nodded. Angard sighed and shut his eyes for a moment before blinking them back open. "I also know about the Kyuubi."

Angard breathed in sharply. "How?" He demanded and Sasuke shifted to sit more comfortably on the stone floor. "There was a hooded man who was demanding Naruto hand over the Kyuubi," he growled and remembered those soulless eyes that pushed him away from Naruto. "A hooded man?" Angard asked quickly and narrowed his eyes. Sasuke nodded once and Angard cursed. "What?" Sasuke asked. "Nothing. So...answer me this Sasuke. Are you terrified of Naruto now? Are you disgusted by what he harbors...afraid of what he could become?"

Sasuke was silent for a few minutes as he thought over his answer. "...No," he said finally and met Angard's mismatched eyes. "I'm more mad than anything that he thought he couldn't tell me. But I...I can't hate him for something he has no control over." _Unlike Itachi,_ he thought scathingly. Angard nodded, apparently pleased with the Uchiha's answer. "You have to understand, Sasuke, that for years Naruto has endured much abuse for what he has within him," Angard explained and leaned back, catching a blue orb in his palm. "It is not an easy subject for him to discuss." "I get that," Sasuke retorted. "But I'm supposedly his best friend."

"And a great one you act like too," Angard said sarcastically and looked into his orb. "Summon Consecro," he ordered and the orb vanished with a _"pop!", _leaving behind a colorful cloud of dust. "Look Sasuke, I'm glad you care about Naruto so much. Sakura too. I'm proud of both of you because no matter what the villagers did or said you stuck by him. You should be happy to have him as a friend." Sasuke nodded and glowered and Sakura for a moment. "She hated him for a while," the raven muttered.

"Only because she was trying to impress you," Angard laughed. "You acted so indifferent to Naruto she decided to as well." Sasuke nodded. "So...about my transformation..." Sasuke said slowly and Angard watched him expectantly. "Oh, that reminds me," Angard interrupted and reached into his pouch again, drawing out two blue hitai-ates. "These belong to you and Naruto," Angard said and Sasuke took each into a seperate palm. "I found Naruto's in your old pocket and I didn't know if you still wanted to wear yours..."

Sasuke nodded and set both of them to the side; he would make a decision later. "Anyways, these outfits that you and Sakura have were picked out by some of my relatives," Angard explained and eyed the Shimenawa around Sasuke's waist disdainfully. "Not really sure how to feel about that rope and skirt thing-" Sasuke coughed at the skirt comment- "But whatever floats your boat. Anyways, this is what you and Sakura will look like when you are sixteen years of age. I hope you like what you see because now that you exist like this in the Underworld..."

Angard waved his hand as if to gesture Sasuke's form. "You will have to look like this in the Overworld later on." Sasuke nodded and a calm silence enveloped the two conscious figures for a moment. "I wonder what Naruto will look like..." The raven murmured suddenly, honestly curious as to his other teammate's appearance at this age. "Ask," Angard replied and waved his left hand around to bring Sasuke's attention to the multi-colored spheres all around them.

Sasuke reached up and caught a purple one with blue flecks in the middle in his hand. "These are the souls of my ancestors," Angard explained as the raven brought the sphere close to his face. "In the Underworld, the more wealth your clan has determines how many soul-spheres you possess. My clan, the Ignatis, are directly under the Royal Family, so we naturally have many of our ancestor's souls to keep us company and give us insight that we crave.

"Normally one who is not of the Ignatis clan cannot use the Ignatis family soul-spheres, however I did manage to convince one of our elders to grant you, Sakura, and Kakashi permission to ask our ancestors anything. It is a high honor and I suggest you do not abuse it." Sasuke nodded and did indeed feel privileged to be holding the former life of one of Angard's family members in his hand. "Thank you," he said and returned his attention to the orb.

"Show me Uzumaki Naruto when he is sixteen years old," the Uchiha commanded. The purple in the orb shifted to the outter edges as it had with the orange sphere while the blue dots seemed to swirl into a spinning vortex that drew Sasuke into them like an entrancing genjutsu. Then he felt as if he were being sucked in through a tight tube and then he was standing before a tall blonde figure who was just a hair's breath shorter than Sasuke himself was.

The figure was standing with his back away from Sasuke, and the raven saw that he was wearing a bright orange jacket (to which he scoffed at) but wasn't as oversized as before. A thick line of black ran three-fourths of the way across and down his back to meet the Whirlpool symbol that was in a bright red color. The collar of the jacket was higher and the strap that was attached to his left shoulder was shortened. The man's hair was spiky-er and longer, while the strands of cloth that tied what Sasuke assumed was a hitai-ate were lengthened and ran down his back.

His legs were covered by bright orange pants and on his right thigh were strands of white tape that held a weapons pouch. His feet were covered by black sandals and were almost like boots, and were visible due to the fact that his pants were unrolled. Then he turned and Sasuke saw his face. The whiskers were still there, as well as that cheesy grin and the sky blue eyes that lit up the dimmest of Sasuke's days, but even those were more mature than when he was thirteen. The front from of his jacket was mostly black with two sections of orange on either side of the zipper.

"Naruto..." Sasuke whispered and reached out, only to find his hand pass right through the blonde's shoulder. Naruto smiled sadly and waved, then Sasuke was falling and he was again sitting in front of Angard and Sakura, the earlier of the two watching him curiously. "Did you like what you saw?" The brunette asked and was reminded of what Naruto had asked in the kimono store. "...Yeah," he replied and looked to Sakura. Angard followed his gaze and stood before bending to pick the rosette up. "Let's get her to her room," the Daemon said and exited the room while Sasuke followed slowly, looking over his shoulder at the soul-spheres before shutting the door behind himself.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

"Alright," Angard breathed out as he gently placed Sakura on her bed, drawing the covers over her body and stood while cracking his back. "Kakashi's in his room reading if you want to talk to him," the brunette said and yawned as he strode past Sasuke, who stood on the opposite side of the bed and grunted at the offer. Then he remembered there was something he wanted to ask the Daemon.

"Wait a second," the raven said as he stepped out of Sakura's room after Angard and shut the door behind himself. The brunette walked to the other wall and turned, leaning against the red stone. "Who is Draycl?" Sasuke asked and Angard visibly paled. "How do you know who that is?" He asked carefully as if talking to an upset child. "The brat ran into me in your dining hall," Sasuke muttered and grimaced at the memory.

"Then some maid apologized that I had seen him, weird, since he looks _exactly like Naruto. _Weird, isn't it?" Sasuke asked and leaned forward expectantly. Angard sighed and shut his eyes, lowering his head and crossing his arms. "...When Kushina was pregnant she asked to see what Naruto would look like when he was barely out of the Academy," the brunette began. "Our elders would not allow her access to our soul-spheres, so my sisters and I decided to...create a clone of sorts. Ira envisioned what Naruto would look like and Kunae created it by morphing a tree into a human being.

"I provided his personality. So we had a grown version of Naruto, but Kushina died before she could see him. Obviously none of us anticipated that...or the marks on Naruto's cheeks, so other than that Draycl is an exact clone of the Naruto from now. He however does not age, since he has never existed before Kunae created him. We instead gave Draycl as a gift to one of my sisters who is unable to have children. So now she has a thirteen year old boy for all eternity."

Angard snorted and looked up at Sasuke, who was scowling in return. "So that kid is Naruto," the raven said slowly and Angard shook his head. "I didn't want you or Sakura to see Draycl because I knew you'd think that," Angard explained. "Despite their...similarities...Naruto and Draycl _are _different," "Similarities? You just said they are exact clones!" Sasuke exclaimed and waved his hand wildly in front of him.

"DNA-wise, yes. But personalities Draycl is calmer than Naruto. But Naruto is also more ambitious than Draycl is." Sasuke nodded slowly. "Thanks for...clearing that up," the raven said slowly and Angard nodded in response. Sasuke stood straight and walked to his door, where he rested his palm on the wood and turned his head to see Angard still leaning on the wall.

"Angard?" He called out. "Yes," was the soft reply. "When do we take the test?" The Uchiha asked. "In two days." "Hn." Sasuke pushed his door open and stepped inside his room, sighing and shutting the wooden slab behind himself and setting his forehead against the cool wood. "This is insane," he muttered to himself and felt the need to take a shower. As he turned to head to his bathroom he suddenly remembered the two hitai-ates that Angard had bestowed to him and how they were still in the soul-sphere chamber.

Turning, Sasuke briskly stepped into the now empty hallway and traced his path back to the dining hall, where more of the Ignatis clan residents were gathered for what the raven assumed was lunch and went to fling open the heavy door that separated him from the last bit of Naruto he had for now...where he found Consecro seated on the floor with Naruto's hitai-ate burning in his palm.

* * *

-gasp- Consecro, how could you?! Haha, you'll just have to find out in the next chapter. I feel like maybeeeee sometime soon a certain Uchiha is going to finally figure some stuff out, possibly? :) don't forget to review and until next time! 3


	13. Sunlight

Sunlight

* * *

Sasuke snarled wordlessly as he saw what Consecro was doing. The brunette spun and stood quickly, hazel eyes wide with the burning blue fabric in his right hand and Sasuke's own hitai-ate in his left. "What the fuck do you think you are doing!?" Sasuke shouted and stalked forward, ignoring the fact that his sharnigan was activated and he quickly snatched both objects out of Consecro's fingers.

Managing to put out the fire, Sasuke noticed that the metal was now a dusty black and the Konoha symbol was barely visible, and parts of the fabric were completely gone in some places. He looked up and glared at the servant. "Do you have any idea," the raven began lowly and shoved his left hand into Consecro's chest, shoving him backwards. "What this means to me? What it means to the _boy who is currently being tortured for his life!?" _Consecro was shivering, his eyes wide with fear, and Sasuke felt a grim satisfaction at the sight.

"Why were you doing this," he asked menacingly as a green orb passed between his face and the brunette's. "Answer me!" The Uchiha shouted when he didn't get a reply. Another shiver passed through Consecro and he opened his mouth slowly. "...Human property...isn't permitted...in the Underworld," the brunette stuttered out and Sasuke's fists clenched. "This 'human property' is the only thing I have left of my best friend!" Sasuke yelled and pushed Consecro again into the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry..." Consecro murmured and continued to stare, wide-eyed, at Sasuke. "It's too late for that," Sasuke whispered dangerously in reply and an urge to kill washed over him, which he accepted greedily. _This boy will pay for what he has done! _Reaching behind himself, the raven drew his katana and held it above his head while Consecro shouted in fear, and then his arm swung down with the metal in his hand glistening in the light of the soul-spheres.

_Crunch!_

Sasuke breathed heavily as he gaped at the ginger woman in the doorway, her hand extended to where he had been standing before he had been flung against the opposite wall, which his shoulder had left a dent on the stone. Consecro was brushing his arms and looking at the woman whom Sasuke recognized as the nameless, blind woman from earlier. "Thank you," the brunette said. The ginger nodded and her head swiveled to the left to fix what Sasuke assumed was a glare on his head, but instead was looking at his leg.

"How dare you try to kill Consecro," she hissed, her voice ragged with disuse. Sasuke stood straight, his bones aching in protest and his left shoulder blazing as he ripped it from the hole in the wall. The raven bent to retrieve his katana and then met the woman's stern gaze evenly. "He was destroying the most precious possession of someone very dear to me," Sasuke replied coldly and swept forward to brush past the woman and return to his room. The woman stuck her arm out and effectively blocked the raven's escape.

"Humans have fallen so far from when I was alive," she whispered and her eyes gazed past Sasuke and Consecro to stare straight ahead. "Killing is the answer to everything now...it's all so very out of balance..." Her head whipped to the right and Sasuke shivered as her stormy eyes bored into his own coal orbs. "The boy you want to save," she murmured and raised herself onto her toes to whisper into Sasuke's ear. "You will love him more than you realize." Sasuke's eyes widened. "I already consider him my closest friend," he muttered in reply and the woman laughed.

"Who says there isn't a love that surpasses friendship?" She said and stepped aside, giving Sasuke a free path to freedom, to which he took running. "There are many types of love," she called after him as he sprinted through the large double doors and into a now crowded hallway. _What does she mean by that?! _The raven thought frantically as he ducked and weaved his way through masses of people who were shouting and glaring at him with strangely colored eyes until he finally found an opening into a seemingly abandoned hallway.

Swerving to his right, the raven burst from the swell of people into open air and found himself in a dim corridor...and completely lost. Breathing heavily, he walked forward and focused on moving his legs, placing his hands on his head to breath easier until he was met with another door. Sighing, and not really wanting to open it yet, the Uchiha turned and lowered himself so he was seated with his back to the wood. "How can I love Naruto as more than a friend..." he whispered to himself and raised his head to the ceiling.

Sasuke shut his eyes and then he was back in the kimono store, staring at Naruto who was smiling and laughing, his kimono twirling around him as he spun. Sasuke smirked to himself in reality, imagining the blonde walking towards him in those ridiculous getas and tripping, reliving the crash that led to the fox child sitting in Sasuke's lap. Then his eyes snapped open and he gasped. _No...way..._it all seemed too far fetched! Sasuke bolted upright and he turned to thrust the wooden door behind himself open and ran inside, slamming the wood shut and gazing around.

The space was incredibly dim; the only way Sasuke was able to see was with his sharnigan, and even then the visibility was poor. It seemed to be empty, with a high arched ceiling that Sasuke couldn't see the tip of and as he walked forward his footsteps echoed all around him. It almost seemed to be an abandoned place of worship, because there were remnants of wooden benches dotted around. Then as he continued to walk forward the raven saw a pedestal placed in the exact center of the room.

Placed on the table was a mirror that was suspended in the air seemingly on its own. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he approached the glass, and as it slowly revolved to face him it suddenly stopped and simply hovered in front of his face. Then words slowly etched themself into the glass.

_This glass will show you what you most desire, _the words read. _But it is not always what you believe. Be warned, for this Test is one that if failed, cannot be repeated. _What test was there in finding what you want most? Sasuke frowned and reached out with his right hand to grip the mirror, the words vanishing and his face filling the mirror. "Ridiculous..." He muttered and waited for something to happen. Nothing. Sighing, he was about to place the mirror back when his image vanished and he was met with an image of himself and Naruto surrounded by white fog.

Confused, the Uchiha saw that they both appeared to be sixteen. The Mirror Sasuke and Naruto seemed to be talking, but there were no audible words and Sasuke couldn't read their lips. Then the Mirror Sasuke reached out and embraced Naruto, who quickly returned the hug and they stood there, swaying amongst the swirling mass of white. Eyebrows rising, Sasuke felt panic rise in him as he watched the Uchiha in the mirror mouth three words that he _could _read. Inhaling sharply, the raven threw the mirror towards the pedestal, where it then continued to hang suspended and turn slowly.

Backing away and gripping his hand as if burnt, Sasuke felt his back brush against the door. He seemed to be doing this a lot lately; flinging doors open and running. Managing to find the corridor that led to the dining room and thankfully seeing that it was once more empty, the raven sprinted back to the hallway that his own bedroom was in and swiftly went inside, slamming the door and going to his bed, where he then laid in a fetal position with his hand clutched to his chest.

In his mind all he could see were his own lips in the mirror, and what they had said.

_"I love you..."_

* * *

"Sasuke?" Kakashi's voice called out after what seemed to be an eternity. "Sasuke, are you in there?" Sasuke growled wordlessly and stared at Naruto's hitai-ate. "Go away," he muttered. "Sasuke, Angard says it is time for you and Sakura to take the test. Both of you have been in your rooms for a day, you have less than a week until the three week time period is up." At that statement Sasuke bolted upward, his mattress bouncing in response and his fist tightened around the blue-black cloth in his hand.

He checked to make sure he had his katana, then went to the door and opened it to find Kakashi leaning in the doorway, dressed in his usual Jounin attire, the hitai-ate on his forehead still covering his left sharnigan eye. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you look different?" The Uchiha asked and Kakashi shoved his "Come Come Paradise" book back into his vest pocket. "Because I didn't want to?" The Jounin replied as if it the most obvious thing in the world. Then the wolf turned and waved his hand over his shoulder while walking away. "Hurry up, ne? Angard doesn't like waiting..."

Sasuke muttered under his breath and quickened his pace to keep up with Kakashi's long strides that led his past more small courtyards and through twisting hallways until they stood outside on a cobbled path surrounded by fountains of water in front of an enormous building easily half the size of the Uchiha complex with large circular windows on the front, where a large wooden porch dominated the space. "Keep up Sasuke, unless your old age is catching up with you," Kakashi teased and again Sasuke cursed his sensei as they walked up the wooden stairs to a set of double doors which the Jounin opened swiftly to reveal a massive greeting hall, the ceiling stretching high above Sasuke's head and the walls covered with intricate designs of strong looking men and beautiful women.

Sasuke's head moved left to right, trying to take in the flood of light coming from windows and soul-spheres and the paintings on the walls as he and Kakashi made their way to the front, where on a raised platform where eight thrones occupied by four women and four men, one of whom was Angard who was watching the raven with oddly blank eyes. In the middle of the groups of four sat an elderly man on a large gilded throne, a pure white soul-sphere by his right hand which held a black scepter which had a golden clawed hand on the top, that seemed to have a ball of flame in its grasp.

Sakura was standing at the base of the black marble steps, her hands behind her back which was facing Sasuke and Kakashi as they went to stand on either side of her, Kakashi to the right and Sasuke to the left. As soon as they stopped moving the old man stood, his jet black hair tied into a long ponytail the reached down to his hip flicking behind his back. The eight men and women on either side of him stood as well, their robes swishing, and as Sasuke looked at them he noticed the women were wearing robes that were based on warm colors and the men wore cold colored robes.

His attention was drawn back to the eldest as he raised his hands to the ceiling and looked at the three shinobi before him. "Welcome, human-kind, to the hall of the Ignatis clan," he declared. "Upon these walls are the heroes of our generations, spanning centuries with their acts of valor and bravery against those who hold more darkness than the night." "Demons," Kakashi whispered to Sasuke and Sakura, who both nodded their thanks at the clarification.

"It has been foretold that the Fox Child has been abducted by the Decieved," the man continued and a woman wearing an orange robe, her eyes the color of gold and her hair a fiery red with streaks of yellow stepped forth from the four women holding a small brown chest, to which she brought to the elder. He waved his staff over the container and the lid opened, and out flew a pure black soul-sphere with small shards of white floating in its depths.

"You three know the Fox-Child well," he said and the soul-sphere floated forward to hover right before Sasuke's face, seemingly appraising him. "Wolf-Child. You have already passed the Test, and as such it is your duty to tutor your underlings in what is to come." "Yes, Elder-sama," Kakashi replied respectfully as the orb moved away from Sasuke to Sakura. "Angard," the man called and the brunette stepped forward, dressed in a royal blue robe that swished on the ground as he walked. "You have brought the humans here, and as such it is your duty to ensure they complete what is being bestowed upon them."

Angard nodded. "This Test is an honored tradition of all Daemons, children," the elder stated and the black soul-sphere returned to hover next to the white orb at his right. "To even be considered for taking it is a high achievement, and I suggest you do not take it lightly." Sasuke and Sakura bowed as it seemed the right thing to do. "Hai," Sakura said in addition, to Sasuke's annoyance. Then the elder turned to Sasuke. "It is to my understanding that you have had a disagreement with one of the Damned," he said.

Sasuke's throat dried and Sakura turned to look at him. "Yes..Elder," he replied slowly, and the man's eyes hardened. "In the future, refrain from confrontation," he said stiffly. "It is not the wisest thing to do, to anger those who have already been condemned to an eternity of servitude. No matter how they react in the moment, they will be angry at you after all is said and done. Tread lightly, Hawk-child, for this land is more dangerous than yours will ever be."

Sasuke nodded and stiffened his stance as the elder struck the ground with his staff. "Your Test, Emerald Eyes and Hawk Child, is to make it through the..." He said something in a light tongue that Sasuke did not understand, "...Known in your language as the Judgement Forest. If you can complete the Test in five days, you will receive the mark that allows you to pass through the barriers Angard as warned us about.

"You have two hours before your test begins. You are not permitted to bring food or beverage...however, you may bring one soul-sphere to aid you in any questions you may have." the eldest raven returned the black soul-sphere to its chest and the woman from earlier collected it, hiding it in the folds of her robe and returning to her seat. "Dismissed," he said loudly and in a whoosh of air all the Daemons vanished. "...Now what?" Sakura asked and all three shinobi turned. "Now," Kakashi said and stepped in front of the two genin.

"Now you two go get your soul-spheres and meet me in my room." Sakura nodded and Sasuke grunted. "Angard may or may not be joining us," the wolf continued as they made their way out of the building and through the enormous courtyard back to what appeared to be the main residence of the complex. "Fine," Sasuke said bluntly and walked past his teammates to try and get to his soul-sphere faster. "In a rush Sasuke?" Kakashi called out as Sasuke began to jog ahead of them. "Really, what gave it away," Sauske muttered and turned a corner.

* * *

**Oi, brat. How're you holding up?**the Kyuubi growled inside of Naruto's mind. In response a white hot iron pressed to the inside of Naruto's arm and he screamed in pain. _"How does it look like I'm doing?" _the blonde hissed and he opened his eyes briefly, only to widen them in shock. There, high above his head, hovered what appeared to be Sasuke and Sakura, but they looked...different. **You see them too, huh...**_"Yeah," _Naruto muttered and saw Sasuke staring at him with wide eyes. _"They look different though..." _

Sasuke and Sakura both seemed equally shocked to be seeing Naruto, but then they both suddenly vanished without warning. Then a pain like nothing before tore through Naruto's head. His vision became dotted with white as he screamed, feeling like his very soul was being cleaved in half. **Naruto! **The Kyuubi shouted and Naruto felt him trying to push the force away. **Naruto, don't give up! Sasuke and Sakura are coming for you! **Naruto could barely hear the demon fox as he slowly began to lose consciousness.

And his last conscious thought was of Sasuke in a room surrounded by brilliant spheres of light.

* * *

Alright! So next chapter Sasuke and Sakura start the test. I feel like this chapter is a little bit shorter, but I was running on a tight schedule today so I didn't have much time to write...but next chapter is going to be extremely long (at least I'm planning on that) so it may take a few days to upload. And just a spoiler, Naruto _will _be the same age as Sasuke and Sakura. There isn't going to be any pedophile action, I promise :) anyways, hugs and kisses to all xD


	14. High Noon

High Noon

* * *

Sasuke was confused.

After he had run away from Kakashi and Sakura (who were admittedly taking _forever_) he had somehow managed to make a wrong turn and was currently in front of what appeared to be a greenhouse of some sorts, except the glass panels were made out of some dark meshy material that Sasuke couldn't identify and quite frankly didn't care to.

He did however, need to find his way back because he estimated about fifty minutes had passed since his audience with what he assumed was the Ignatis Clan's elders...but even Angard didn't fit the ideal image of an old wise man, so the raven didn't place too much hope in the fact that the brunette could give him some worldly advice if he somehow managed to find him while simultaneously finding his way out of here.

And he didn't even know for sure how much time had gone by since there wasn't even a sun down here and yet the Uchiha felt like he was in a baking oven. Scowling due to his current predicament, Sasuke turned away from appraising the greenhouse and groaned when he saw three different hallways facing him. "The gods hate me," the raven muttered under his breath and tried to feel the way the air flowed out of each exit, hoping to find the one that would lead hin to another stretch of stone.

Of course, the one time he needed a breeze, none came. Smacking his palm against his forehead, and muttering as he felt sweat under his hand, he cursed the fact that he didn't have the patience to walk with his teammates and took a random guess at the left path, entering the cooler area and welcoming the change in temperature gladly.

Of course, his good mood didn't last long as he eventually found his way into a circular room that he did not remember running through. "Dammit," he hissed and looked around for a soul-sphere to aid him back to his path. And to his dismay, none were in sight. Honestly, was there some other-worldly being out to make sure Sasuke suffered?! Wait, he wasn't even on Earth right now...

"Where the fuck am I," Sasuke muttered and was about to turn and head back the way he came when there was the sound of feet scuffling to his left. Turning his head, the raven saw the young blonde from earlier standing in his black and red vest and pants, smiling cheekily at him.

_I hate my life, _Sasuke groaned in his head as he remembered the boy's name, and the reason for his existence. "What do you want, Draycl," he grit out. If possible, the clone's smile grew wider and his eyes widened to comical proportions. "Oh, hey Sasuke," the blonde said happily and Sasuke took a step back. "Didn't expect to see you here! I mean, shouldn't you be in the soul-sphere room right now, yeah?"

Again Sasuke groaned in frustration as Naruto's familiar speech pattern was practically oozing from Draycl's mouth. The blonde tilted his head to the side with his arms clasped innocently behind his back. "Something wrong?" He asked pleasantly. "Yeah," Sasuke said coldly. "You're here when I'm supposed to be on my way there." "Well I hate to break it to you Sasuke, but you're on the other side of the complex right now. Are you trying to waste time or something? Even an idiot could have found his way to the common room from where you were."

"That's it," Sasuke snapped and strode forward to tower over the blonde, who didn't even look the least bit scared, to Sasuke's displeasure. "No-one talks to me like that-" _-except Naruto- _"And if you dare call me anything except 'Sasuke' again I will rip your head off." Draycl nodded, but Sasuke could tell the child was holding back a laugh, but shrugged it off and turned away again.

"I could take you there, you know," Draycl called out and Sasuke froze. He turned and saw that the blonde was looking over his own shoulder and facing the doorway he had apparently come through. "Only if you do whatever I say..." He continued and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What do you want..." The raven muttered. "Do those cool jutsu things. When Kakashi and his teammates came here they were sparring. It was awesome!"

There was a sparkle in Draycl's eyes that, despite Sasuke's better judgement, reminded him of Naruto in a way that made it impossible to resist. "If I do, you'll take me to the soul-spheres, right?" The Uchiha muttered and Draycl nodded. "Fine." Stepping into the middle of the room where a beam of dim light shone through a hole in the ceiling, Sasuke decided on what jutsu he would use.

The blonde in front of him watched patiently as he mulled over which attack he could do that would do the least damage to the area around him and eventually decided on his "signature" move. Holding his left wrist in his right hand, the raven crouched down and focused his chakra into one hand. All the light seemed to be sucked out of the room and was replaced by a dark blue glow forming in Sasuke's left palm, accompanied by the sound of chirping birds. "Chidori," the raven announced smoothly as the noise rose.

"Wow..." Draycl said, his eyes glued on Sasuke's hand as the raven looked around for something to strike and thus dispel the chakra, setting his own gaze on an old looking couch. Running forward, he stuck his hand out and caught a pillow in his path, a small explosion resulting from the collision and as the dust cleared, what was left of the seat lay smoldering in a blackened heap.

Turning, Sasuke saw the blonde bouncing up and down clapping, his eyes shut. "That was amazing!" He squealed and Sasuke let himself smirk at his gleefulness. "I can do stuff too...just not that jutsu crap..." Draycl stopped bouncing and pouted. "Not everyone is good at using chakra," Sasuke muttered and dusted his clothes while ambling back to the child. "Now, let's go. I have to get a soul-sphere and I probably don't have much time until I have to meet Kakashi and Sakura."

Draycl nodded and turned around, walking towards the doorway behind him. "You know, I hear Uncle Angard and Kakashi talk about this one kid a lot," the blonde commented as he led Sasuke down a narrow hallway. "You mentioned his name too...ah, what was it?...Naruto! Yeah, that kid. What's up with that anyway?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked forward as Draycl glanced at him. "C'mon, who is he?" The blonde pushed.

Sasuke was currently debating if discussing Naruto aloud would result in an emotional breakdown that he seemed to be having a lot these days. And they always seemed centered around the very blonde kid Draycl wanted to know about..."...Someone very important to us," the raven muttered. "Oh. Okay." The two fell into an uncomfortable silence for some time as the child led the way past endless rooms and strange statues and courtyards until they reached a segment Sasuke was familiar with.

"I can make it from here," he said curtly and went to walk around Draycl, who just _had _to be walking ahead of Sasuke with his hands behind his head. The mop of blonde hair turned to the side and a cobalt orb peered at him. "You sure? You seem to get lost pretty easily," the child teased and Sasuke growled wordlessly. "Hey, chill, I was kidding," Draycl backtracked quickly and pointed to the double doors of the common room. "Enjoy your test," he called and moved past Sasuke to a hallway that led away from the dining area.

"Usuratonkachi.." He muttered unconsciously and pushed the doors open to a room filled with servants and, amongst them, watching him with disdainful eyes, was Consecro. As soon as Sasuke's presence was noticed the murmurs that had been flitting through the crowd stopped and thousands of eyes gathered on his form. The displeasure coming from the Damned was almost rolling off in waves as Sasuke walked by, the crowd parting like a river as the raven made his way to the soul-sphere chamber.

As he passed Consecro, the Damned around the brunette formed a wall between him and Sasuke while his hazel eyes watched the raven with hatred and fear. Once he had his back to the crowd the Uchiha rolled his eyes and entered the chilled room, rainbow lights filling his vision once more and the colorful orbs zipping past his eyes. Looking around, the raven saw no sign of Kakashi or Sakura and released a thankful breath at the fact that he still managed to arrive ahead of them, then went to stand amongst a thick cluster of soul-spheres.

As he watched the mesh of colors swirl around him, Sasuke tried to find a soul-sphere that he thought was, well, pretty enough, considering he didn't know if one was wiser than the other. Then an orange orb with white and blue flecks caught his eye and an image of Naruto's jacket flashed in his head and he just knew this was the one he needed. It was hovering above his head and twirling around a pink sphere with green specks and a blue one with black, eerily reminding the raven of himself and Sakura as he reached out and plucked the orb from its orbit.

Holding it in front of his face, the raven viewed his reflection in the smooth glass-like surface with the soft orange glow illuminating his features, his mind blank. "...Show me..." Sasuke trailed off as he pondered what he wanted to see. "Show me what my life would have been like if my clan had not been killed." The Uchiha's ears seemed to become plugged and he felt as if he were underwater as the air around him suddenly vanished and he was floating in a dim black space with the soul-sphere lighting up a small area around him.

Then the blue and white orbs spun slowly inside of the orb and Sasuke's eyes locked on them as the orange fog again moved away from the center and all he saw were specks of blue and white dancing against a black backdrop, and then he was falling. Yelling wordlessly, Sasuke looked down and saw a glimmer of light rushing up to meet him and he braced himself for a very hard impact on the ground as air whooshed in his ears. As the light grew larger, voices began to murmur lightly and the raven strained to hear them through the shrieking of wind.

Then it was like he had broken the surface of water as he seemed to splash through the light, his fall suddenly stopped and he was floating a few inches from a wooden floor next to a pair of sandaled feet. "...The first duty of the shinobi is to protect civilians," Iruka's voice spoke as if Sasuke wasn't laying, in _mid-air, _next to him. Groaning, the raven sat up and found he still couldn't touch the ground and was faced with his old shinobi class. Shocked, he looked up at Iruka, who was pointing towards the chalkboard.

The brunette still was oblivious to Sasuke even when he stood and waved his hand in front of the Chūnin's face. Confused, the Uchiha turned and faced younger versions of all his classmates sitting in neat rows behind raised wooden desks. Sakura and Ino were sitting in the top left desk, gazing admirably at...himself. Rolling his own eyes and realizing even if the clan massacre had never happened he would still have a fanclub, Sasuke appraised the rest of the children and found they were pretty much the same except...

Naruto wasn't there.

Sasuke floated amongst the chairs and tried to see if the blonde was perhaps hiding and waiting to ambush the younger Sasuke when the school bell rang but to his disturbance, the blonde was no-where to be found. Going to stand, or hover as apparently that was possible, next to younger Sasuke the raven looked over the child's shoulder and saw that, as usual, he was excelling in every way and would receive perfect marks for this assignment.

The bell clanging made Sasuke want to yelp and it was he rose a few inches in the air until his toes were seemingly brushing the younger Sasuke's hair, except they were going _through _the kid's head as he stood up to pack his things. "Sasuke-kun!" Two annoyingly high-pitched voices called out and the older Sasuke groaned at their presence and turned with his younger clone to see Sakura and Ino leading a charge of mindless girls towards him.

Expecting the kid to run, Sasuke prepared to follow him when unexpectedly, the young raven leaned to one side and smirked at the approaching zombie hoard, his bag slung loosely around his shoulders. "What am I doing?" Sasuke groaned out loud at his younger self's ignorance. "He's going to get ripped to shreds!" But instead of the outcome Sasuke was expecting, younger Sasuke simply lifted his hand and the stampede stopped, the girls watching him with wide-eyes.

"Not today," he said simply and suddenly _smiled, _well and truly _smiled, _and Sasuke's jaw dropped at the statement. "Sakura, I'll be taking you to Ichiraku's tomorrow at five," the kid continued and the rosette squealed while the girls around her groaned in disappointment. _What. The. Fuck, _Sasuke thought as he followed the young Uchiha out of the classroom to the world outside, the sun hanging low in the sky and groups of people milling about.

Young Sasuke (whom the current Sasuke could barely recognize as himself) took a familiar way home, heading through a more run-down part of Konoha, where the buildings retained a sense of warmth but lost the traditional wooden Chinese style of the rest of the homes and businesses of Konoha. The child passed Naruto's apartment building with barely a blink and Sasuke looked up to the very top window where he knew Naruto's home was...and debating leaving this apparent brat to check on the blonde.

Once Sasuke had decided to visit Naruto he suddenly began to float up and away from the younger Sasuke, who was walking at a leisurely pace around the building and continued to stay in the raven's line of sight until he passed through a wall and was sitting in an empty room. Confused, the Uchiha sat in the air cross-legged as he looked around. The room was dim, with hardly anything in it except a table, a chair, and a kitchen in the corner. The whole apartment actually seemed to be one big room as he turned to see a bed covered with an orange blanket shoved under a window.

And a shaking lump buried in the fabric.

Confused, Sasuke floated over to the heap and tried to move the blanket, but found that his hands slipped through the material and the creature under it as if they were made of air. Arching an eyebrow, the raven went to hit the blanket full on and again found his hand submerged in but not touching anything in front of him. "Okay..." Sasuke muttered and saw the huddle in front of him shift again, a spike of blonde hair now spiking from the edge of blanket.

Then the orange cloth shifted entirely and a very tired-looking Naruto sat up on the mattress, rubbing his eyes with his right fist and his left clutching at the blanket next to him. The trademark orange jacket was missing from his form and he was simply wearing a black tee shirt with orange pants. But then Sasuke saw the child's eyes. Normally those cobalt eyes sparkled with emotion and Sasuke could always read them like an open book. But now...there was nothing. They were identical pits of saddness. If Sasuke wasn't an Uchiha he probably would have started to cry at the sheer loneliness in Naruto's blank stare as the blonde looked at his front door, dried tear streaks on his scarred cheeks.

"Oh my god, Naruto..." Sasuke whispered and the blonde rose slowly from the bed, stepping through Sasuke and going towards his kitchen, where he dragged to wooden chair from his table to the counter and stood on it, balancing carefully as he reached for a cup of ramen just out of his reach. There was a tug on the raven's heart and he longed to reach out to the saddened child before him, but suddenly his vision was filled with white fog and he blinked in surprise, finding himself inside the confines of his family estate.

Which, as he last recalled it, was bone dry.

But now, candlelight shone throughout every room and the sounds of clanging silverware sounded from what Sasuke believed to be the kitchen, leading him to find a sight that hurt and yet soothed himself at the same time. Gathered around a large circular maple table were four raven-haired figures. The younger Sasuke was sitting with his back to the doorway that the current Sasuke currently stood in, while an innocent-looking Itachi sat opposite of the child, dressed in an ANBU vest and armguards with his mask slung across his back. Sasuke's father wore a black kimono with white trimming around the collar and was eating silently.

Then Sasuke's gaze traveled to the woman sitting to his younger self's right and his eyes watered. Her hair was the same coal black as he remembered, reaching down to the small of her back even while she was sitting and wearing the tan apron around her front and the violet dress that he had last seen her in under it. "Mother..." Sasuke whispered and he floated forward to stand to her left, looking down at her with a burning intensity. She was chatting ceaselessly at younger Sasuke about his grades while Itachi and his father ate with quick, quiet precision, barely letting Mikoto finish a sentence while they finished their plates.

The ravenette glanced up quickly at a light fixture behind Sasuke's head and for a moment he believed she was looking at _him _with those warm, love filled eyes...then she looked back to her food and Sasuke's hope shattered. The pain Sasuke remembered from finding her dead rushed back at himself ten-fold and he gasped at its magnitude, the image of a happy family wavering in front of him like uneasy water and then he was being sucked through a tube, the sight in front of him whisking away in a flash.

Then he sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes, finding himself lying on a cold stone floor, surrounded once more by brilliant lights. _"I can only hold the illusion for so long," _a voice whispered from Sasuke's palm and the raven flinched at the deep voice. "Who's there," he hissed and sat up, gazing around warily and clutching the soul-sphere in his hand close to his chest._ "Look down you idiot! I'm the one talking to you! I swear, all humans are the same, yeah..." _Sasuke did as told and saw the soul-sphere that he was clutching shaking in his grasp.

"Are you...the soul-sphere?" The raven asked aloud and the orb seemed to shake vertically. _"'Bout time, dumbass," _the voice muttered again. Sasuke opened his mouth to complain about the insult but he was cut off before he could speak by the sphere leaping from his grasp to hover between his eyes._ "I'll call you what I want to boy," _the soul-sphere seemed to mutter. _"Now...back to what I was saying before someone rudely interrupted me. I couldn't hold the illusion for as long as you wanted, and I was going to apologize but..."_

"Wait," Sasuke said suddenly, standing up with the soul-sphere following his movement. "Who _are _you? And what do you mean, you 'couldn't hold the illusion'?" An audible sigh seemed to escape the orb. _"I am Nagen," _the deep voice proclaimed and the smooth glass of the soul-sphere brushed against Sasuke's forehead, an image of a man with firey red hair and orange eyes filling his mind for a moment before disappearing. _"And I apparently have had the misfortune of escorting you through your test, am I right, yeah?" _Sasuke nodded, his mood instantly soured from Nagen's irritated tone.

"_Alright. So here's what I meant by I couldn't hold the illusion. You asked to see what your life would've been like if your clan weren't killed, yeah? Well, I first had to reach into your memories and pull out all the information you had on the situation. Then I had to reach into the past and pull out different scenarios that could have played out during that time of your life and see which one matched your image of your family," _Nagen explained.

_"But that took a lot...plus it didn't help when you tried to go visit that blonde brat. Whom I am assuming is the reason why you are taking this test in reality in the first place?" _Sasuke nodded. "Can all of you talk?" The raven asked and looked around at the soul-spheres that arched and dove above his head. _"Nah, not all of us. Or rather, not all of us can and even more choose not to. We already did our part for this world, so we figure it's time for the later generations to step up._

_And besides, I have to talk to you during this test if you want help, much to my chargrin, yeah. And you chose me in the first place because I apparently remind you of the brat you want to save so...here I am, talking to you." _Sasuke grimaced at the soul-sphere's half-assed tone. "Fine," the raven muttered and stood up, gazing down at the orb which had lowered itself back into his hand. "I think it would be better for both of us if we minimize our conversations," he continued once he had passed the Damned again, not wanting to irritate them by talking to Nagen.

_"I agree brat," _Nagen replied and Sasuke rolled his eyea, but refused to speak as he worked his way through small crowds and various Damned until he came upon Kakashi and Sakura...the rosette gripping a green soul-sphere in her hand. "About time you showed up," Kakashi drawled and Sasuke scowled as the Jounin sat on a convenient bench. "We thought you went ahead but...you still didn't get there before us. I guess you're getting old, ne?"

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered and went to stand next to Sakura, who was holding two traveling packs in her left hand. She slung one over her shoulder and held the other out to Sasuke. "I packed for you," she said in an attempt to be helpful, but the raven was in such a bad mood that he simply snatched it and barely managed to mutter a thank you before turning to face his sensei.

"So like I said earlier, this test is like the Forest of Death from the Chūnin Exams," the wolf said and crossed his legs in front of himself. Sakura nodded with her gaze locked intently on Kakashi's eye while Sasuke glowered at the Jounin for seemingly not taking this seriously. "You pretty much need to take something from your starting point to the other side of the forest while being attacked by various Daemons and other creatures. Everything will be holding back, remember...but that doesn't mean you have to."

"You mean we have to go in to kill?" Sakura asked and Kakashi nodded. "The Daemons that attack you will get out long before you actually land a death blow," Kakashi explained. "The other creatures, well...if you kill them it's no big deal. But I would suggest trying to get away from it before going into a death match, hm?" Sasuke nodded curtly. "How much longer until we begin?" The raven demanded impatiently. "Calm yourself Sasuke. We will leave when we leave," Kakashi said and reached into his vest pocket, drawing out Come Come Paradise from its depths.

8-8-8-8-8-8

Sasuke was sitting in an empty windowsill with Nagen floating by his head while he sharpened a kunai, Sakura laying on the floor under him with her own soul-sphere (named Freyda, he had learned from Nagen) and flicking through a small book Angard had apparently given her regarding medical herbs and Kakashi was still sitting on the bench with that damned book in his hand.

_I can't take this anymore, _Sasuke grumbled in his head and stood, flinging the kunai aside and causing Sakura to yelp and shy away as the raven stalked over to the Jounin, whose nose was burried into his book and his eye barely visible. The wolf slowly looked up at Sasuke's angry approach and sighed, lowering his reading material and glancing around the angry Uchiha towards Sakura. "Come along Sakura," he mused and stood while stretching his arms. "Your teammate seems very impatient."

"I want to get this done as soon as possible," Sasuke muttered as Sakura joined the two men and Kakashi led the way down the hall to a walled-in garden, where small children flitted unnaturally fast amongst strange flowers and trees. "Remember you two, whatever it is you have to take must reach the other side of the forest," Kakashi called from ahead and both genin nodded. "What do you think we will be given?" Sakura whispered to Sasuke as they entered another hallway. He shrugged.

"No clue," he muttered truthfully and felt Nagen brush against his arm and an image of a burnt hitai-ate flitted across his eyes. Groaning inwardly, Sasuke suddenly had a very good idea of what it was that he needed to take with him. He mused quietly to himself as he and his teammates walked, falling into a daze until he nearly rammed into Kakashi's back, the Whirlpool symbol centimeters from his nose.

Scowling but refusing to complain, the Uchiha went to stand at Kakashi's right noticed a jungle-like forest stretching in front of him, casting strange shadows in a seemingly non-existant light that stretched towards the three figures. Then Sasuke saw the two men standing near the edge of the growth, in their hands two objects thay he could not identify. Kakashi nudged Sasuke forward while whispering "Good luck" and stepped back, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to walk forward together towards the men whom Sasuke recgonized as the bald servants from earlier, the two scowling at him with unmasked disgust. "Master Sasuke, Mistress Sakura," the one on the right said respectfully, regardless.

"We bestow upon you now two objects that must, under no circumstance, reach the other side of the Judgement Forest safely. If completed, you are well aware of what the award is," the one on the left continued and Sakura bowed. "Thank you," she murmured and stood straight as the men held out the bundles in their arms, wrapped in a grey cloth that Sasuke peeled back carefully, finding Naruto's burnt hitai-ate laying amongst the cloth exactly as Nagen had made it appear to be in his mind.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Sasuke nodded towards the Damned and glanced at the object Sakura had recieved, which was a beautiful saphire vase with green flocks of birds carved into the stone. The Damned vanished in a puff of smoke that enveloped Sasuke and Sakura, and as they stood coughing and waving away the offending cloud, Sasuke saw just exactly what Kakashi meant by "strange creatures".

"Oh...fuck," he whispered.

* * *

Sorry I didn't post this for a couple days! I was a little busy with school and shtick :p but I will be updating both my stories more frequently now so, until then, byeeee


	15. Setting Sun

Setting Sun

* * *

**_Previously..._**

_Swallowing a lump in his throat, Sasuke nodded towards the Damned and glanced at the object Sakura had recieved, which was a beautiful saphire vase with green flocks of birds carved into the stone. The Damned vanished in a puff of smoke that enveloped Sasuke and Sakura, and as they stood coughing and waving away the offending cloud, Sasuke saw just exactly what Kakashi meant by "strange creatures"._

_"Oh...fuck," he whispered._

* * *

Sakura continued to cough as Sasuke stood straight and tucked Naruto's hitai-ate into the pack that the rosette had given him, eyes locked on what appeared to be a cross between a giant cat and a bird. There were three of the things crouching in front of the two genin, their pelts all a strange blue-green, the hairs that ran down their legs slowly morphing into black feathers that on their hind legs met vicious-looking taloned feet.

Sasuke's gaze was drawn to their heads when one roared unexpectedly, causing Sakura to yelp and bolt upright at the noise. Their eyes were a blazing yellow with slitted pupils, and their jaws resembled that of a tiger's, but the top of their heads were covered in more black feathers rising into thick plumage. Swallowing nervously, Sasuke also noticed that one of their paws alone was easily half his size and the rest, well...

Let's just say that these things were _huge._

And Sasuke was not looking forward to having to get past them. Turning to Sakura, who currently appeared to be hyperventilating at the creatures' formidable size, he grasped her shoulder and spun the rosette so she was facing him. "We have to split up and try to outrun them," he muttered, glancing to the side to see the cat/bird thing in the middle inch closer, its tail twitching behind it.

Sakura nodded and seemed to pale at the prospect of possibly facing these things alone, but she backed away and turned to look at the creatures full on, reaching into her weapons pouch and drawing a kunai slowly. Sasuke pulled his katana out of its sheath and swung it to his side, careful to move slow and to keep still as much as possible. _"Those are called Rageneth," _Nagen said lowly from the Uchiha's right, the orb going to float in front of him.

_"They're blind, but they depend on their ears and noses to hunt. You have to get above them first, so they can't smell you as well. The air current isn't strong enough up there for them to find you. From there you have to distract them." _Sasuke nodded slowly. "How do I get above them," he muttered as he saw that the trees surrounding them did not have upper branches that could support his weight.

_"Climb a tree dumbass," _Nagen muttered. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned his head to look at Sakura, who appeared to be asking her own soul-sphere for advice with her head bent low as if in prayer. _"When I say to, jump up," _Nagen said suddenly as Sasuke was analyzing the creatures' movements as they steadily came closer. "Why," Sasuke whispered in response.

_"If you value your life and the life of that pink haired girl over there you will do as I say." _Nagen didn't seem to be fooling around now, so Sasuke reluctantly nodded and saw the orange soul-sphere float forward towards the Rageneth. Then it suddenly began to zip and swerve in front of the cats' eyes and they snarled, their tongues darting out of their mouths and their paws raising to swat at the object.

_"Jump!" _Nagen yelled and Sasuke did as told, leaping up as high as he could and saw Sakura do the same out of the corner of his eye. _"Reach out with your left arm and when you feel something in your palm, close your fingers," _Nagen ordered and Sasuke did as told, putting blind faith into a dead man (and knowing that if this failed he'd become one himself), and suddenly felt something pliable and smooth enter his grasp and he immediately closed his fingers around the object.

He looked up and saw that he was swinging from some sort of vine that draped down from the tip of a tree with gold leaves, then he glanced down to see Nagen racing up to meet him, the orange orb a blur amongst the flashing blue and black pelts of the Rageneth, their roars filling the air and crashing on Sasuke's ears.

Then he saw Sakura duck under the cats' paws, narrowly missing a nasty blow to her torso as she slid to the ground and passing under the middle creature's stomach and standing once she had her back to them, vanishing into the undergrowth as she sprinted away from the rampaging giants.

_"Now, swing," _Nagen commanded and Sasuke thrust his legs and torso forward, propelling himself on the vine to swing forward and backward faster and faster until he was forming an arc in the air. Then he suddenly froze as he was descending and a shiver ran through his form. _"When I tell you to let go, do that and channel as much chakra as you can use into your feet," _Nagen seemed to shout and Sasuke nodded, his body still oddly frozen.

The Rageneth beneath him were now circling the clearing below, their growls sounding like rolling thunder that bounced in the area around them and their footfalls crushing branches and foliage loudly._ "Go!" _Nagen said and Sasuke released his fingers, zooming horizontally over the Rageneths' heads with his feet pointed straight at the bark of a thick tree. Squinting against the rush of air and trying to focus on putting his chakra into the soles of his feet, the Uchiha could barely see Nagen as the orange soul-sphere appeared in front of him, seemingly tugging the raven behind himself towards the tree trunk.

Then Sasuke's legs jolted as they connected with the tree, the leaves and branches shivering above him and foliage raining down around him. He grunted at the impact and bent his knees, testing to see if his chakra would hold and was pleased to find that he didn't tumble to the ground. _"...Walk up..." _Nagen seemed to pant and Sasuke followed the soul-sphere as it wound lazily to the very tip of the tree that would take Sasuke's weight and the raven's heart sank as he beheld the true extent of the forest before him.

It seemed he and Sakura had been transferred to a point in the middle of the forest, where the highest concentration of trees and undergrowth appeared to be. To the right were numerous hills and Sasuke could see small black creatures milling about on their surfaces. Turning his head to the left, Sasuke saw numerous stone towers that spiraled up to the red stone high above his head, and he assumed that was where he needed to go.

_"...Alright dumbass," _Nagen muttered, drifting lazily past Sasuke's head and the raven could see his own scowl reflected in the depths of the blue and white specks inside the orb. _"You're right, you gotta get to the towers over there. The closer you get though, the more you'll be ambushed. In fact...your little pink friend is dealing with one of the Elders right now," _the soul-sphere continued and Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

"Sakura's fighting right now?" He asked and shifted once he felt his foot fall asleep from standing on a tree branch for too long. In response, Nagen brushed against his forehead and a blurry image that was tinted green filled his mind, where Sakura was holding her own against the woman in the orange robe who had given the old man the chest earlier, her hair almost seeming to be alit with fire from her movements.

Sakura was utilizing her massive chakra-enhanced strength to level the field around her, making it easier to land direct blows to the woman's chest and arms, who in return appeared to be summoning vicious animals and strange weapons that Sasuke was unfamiliar with and sending them Sakura's way.

_"...I'm too tired to talk anymore," _Nagen murmured and floated away from Sasuke. _"Distracting those Rageneth and flinging you took a lot outta me, yeah. If you need anything, just don't ask me, yeah?..." _Then calm silence enveloped the area as Nagen drifted into Sasuke's pack, vanishing from sight.

Sasuke sighed and turned his attention back to the towers, which as he counted he noticed there were eight of them, and tried to trace a path through the forest with his sharnigan and memorizing it like a map while keeping his senses open for any ambushes. He seemed to be staying up there for quite some time, because as he finally went to inch his way down the tree his joints groaned and ached in soreness and he winced at the feeling.

As he slowly made his way down, the roar of a Rageneth suddenly snapped Sasuke out of the lazy lull he had been in, reminding him that the cats were still down there trying to find him. So he instead turned and easily leapt from tree to tree, his chakra managing to hold him in place when he stopped to catch his breath.

When he thought that he was a good distance away from the Rageneth, Sasuke finally leapt to the forest floor, which was soft with newly fallen foliage and downy grass as he alit upon it and rolled with the impact. Standing, the raven brushed very small pieces of leaves from his clothing and looked around, sharnigan active. Finding that there was nothing in the vincinity, the Uchiha then noticed that he was dreadfully thirsty; his throat felt scratchy and dry and his tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth.

Glancing around, Sasuke searched for any sign of a stream or pond, tracing the ground for moisture or animal prints and dismayed when he found none. Trying to wet his lips, Sasuke turned towards the direction of the towers, thinking that along the way there would be some water source he would come across on the way.

_8-8-8-8-8-8-8_

_God dammit, _Sasuke thought in irritation as a tendril of grass wrapped around his ankle, aggrivating a cut he had recieved from some demon-monkey thing that had come out of no-where while he was walking. Yanking his leg out of the foliage, Sasuke continued to mutter to himself as he treked through the undergrowth, having realized long ago travelling through the trees led to being ambushed by all sorts of disturbing things.

_At least on the ground, I can watch everything better..._He thought and cursed out loud when a rustle above him caused the raven to jump forward and draw his katana partly, waiting for something to attack him. Nothing but leaves floating downward followed the sound and he sighed, sheathing his weapon and standing straight. And Nagen wasn't being of much help either, if one considers insults and threats assistance.

Muttering under his breath, Sasuke saw a break in the trees in front of him and began to hurry towards it, thinking that finally he had reached the edge of the forest. As he made his way closer to the light, the bushes to his right shifted and something burst from their depths, a black blur in Sasuke's vision as he jumped to avoid the projectile. He skidded on the leaf strewn ground as he jumped back, his head whipping up to glare with his sharnigan blazing.

That's when he saw Angard standing in front of him, grinning and tossing a rock in his palm, wearing the same black and red vest he had seen Draycl in earlier with white baggy pants and shinobi sandals. "Oh...hey Sasuke," the Daemon greeted cheerfully and suddenly threw the rock towards the Uchiha's head, who barely managed to dodge it thanks to his Kekkai-Genkai enhanced vision.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Sasuke exclaimed as Angard rushed forward at an inhuman speed and launched a nasty roundhouse kick towards his abdomen. "Nope, trying to test you," the brunette replied easily and dodged a swing of Sasuke's katana, backflipping and landing on a low branch in a tree. Sasuke looked up and saw an orb of water hovering in Angard's palm, which then was poured into a crystal basin. "I'll make this into a game," the brunette said slyly and placed the bowl on the branch and then leapt down.

"If you can get to that, you win. But remember what Kakashi said...you have to come at me to kill." Sasuke nodded, the burning in his throat flaring at the sight of the water sloshing in the basin. Angard rushed at him again, feinting to the left and holding a curved knife which slashed into the air at Sasuke's right side, blocked by the raven's katana while he attempted to kick Angard's knees.

"Kakashi was right," the Daemon called as Sasuke managed to punch him back a few paces. "Taijutsu isn't really your strong point." Growling, Sasuke took his turn at the offensive and gathered his chakra into his palm. "Chidori!" he yelled as he thrust his fist into Angard's chest, sending the brunette tumbling out of the forest and leaving an open shot towards the water.

Leaping up, Sasuke was about to land on the branch parallel to the basin when a heavy weight rammed into his side and he toppled to the ground, pain lacing up his left side. Kneeling up, the Uchiha saw Angard standing under a tree with his palm extended to the raven, who was surrounded by hundreds of floating, dagger-sharp rocks.

"I told you to come at me to kill," Angard shouted and the rocks launched at Sasuke, who jumped back and glared at the Daemon. "I am!" He called back and noticed a cut on the armguards on the insides of his arms and saw summoning seals tattooed on white tape that wrapped around his wrists. Placing his right hand over the sealed tape on his left, three shruiken appeared in a poof of air in his fingers and he smirked.

"You didn't aim for my heart.." Angard replied and appeared just inside Sasuke's vision, his hand covered in grey rock that was rushing towards his skull. Sasuke turned to meet the attack and bent backwards just as Angard's fist was going to connect to his head, then kicked out with his leg and knocked the Daemon back. Then he flung the shruiken forward, each one embedded into three different tree trunks around Angard.

"That's some pretty bad aim," Angard commented lowly, his mismatched eyes watching Sasuke warily. The Uchiha kept his face impassive as he tugged at the hair-thin wire he had connected to each shruiken before he had knocked Angard away. "You'll have to do better than that then!" The brunette shouted and leaped forward, a blur even in Sasuke's eyes now as he raced towards the raven.

Then Sasuke tugged hard on the wires and Angard was flung back with a surprised yell, tied to a tree that was in the middle of the three that Sasuke had aimed for. The Daemon looked at Sasuke in shock and approval, his ice-blue eye suddenly glowing and Sasuke felt himself filled with energy. "Excellent work," Angard complimented and vanished in a poof of air, appearing in front of Sasuke. "I never anticipiated that. You are very close to the towers now, maybe a day's travel at most. Keep it up."

Then he was gone.

Breathing heavily, Sasuke looked up at the crystal basin and remembered what Angard had promised, and he leapt up to greedily drink the water and nearly groaned in pleasure as the liquid made its way down his throat, soothing the burning ache and letting him think clearer. Standing shakily, he turned around and continued to head towards the light that Angard had previously blocked of until he finally broke through the foliage, finding himself in a vast open plain and, stretching high above him, the towers.

They were still quite a long distance away, but even from where Sasuke stood he could see that they were enormous, their shadows stretching in all directions and hiding possible enemies, a prospect that Sasuke did not enjoy. "Are you ready to come out yet Nagen," he murmured to the soul-sphere that had been worse than useless for most of the time._ "...You will most likely find some Rageneth here, not too many though and they will be cubs. Other than that nothing should happen unless another Daemon attacks you." _Was the lazy reply, and no orange sphere came out to float in front of the raven.

Sighing at the complacent "help," Sasuke reached into his pack and purposely shoved Nagen aside roughly and earning an annoyed shout in the process while searching for Naruto's hitai-ate. Pulling out the burnt cloth, Sasuke decided to rest for a moment and sat down amongst long, waving strands of grass while staring down at the forehead protector, remembering what he had seen in that cavernous room when he had asked to see where Naruto was earlier.

There was something about the hooded man that Sasuke had seen that terrified the raven. And it wasn't just his disturbing, lifeless eyes or the horrible grating voice he possessed; his very being seemed to leak evil and the thought of Naruto being around something like that made Sasuke's stomach twist in apprehension. And considering the Uchiha now knew what Naruto held inside of himself, well...

He longed more than ever to protect the blonde.

He knew quite well that Naruto was capable of protecting himself, but that didn't mean that Sasuke still didn't want to throw himself in front of the fox child if it meant saving his life. Sighing, he held the hitai-ate above his eyes and gazed at the charred Konoha-leaf symbol, tracing it with his thumb and watching as the dim red light that surrounded him bounced off the metal.

Sasuke laid down and shut his eyes, breathing in deeply while listening to the occasional breeze that ruffled the grass around him or the steady cries of animals in the forest behind him, holding Naruto's hitai-ate close to his chest. Sleep found him eventually, and when it did it came with images of Naruto laying against that hard stone table, bleeding out on the floor and crying out in anguish...

"Gah!" Sasuke awoke with a shout as a foot kicked him lightly in the ribs, and he knelt up quickly ready to fight when he saw a pair of sandal-covered feet standing by his side. He looked up and saw Sakura's jade-green eyes looking down at himself with amusement, her mouth upturned into a slight grin. She had many scratches and bite-marks running up her arms and face, blood still oozing from some of the worser wounds.

"Mornin'," the rosette said lightly and stepped aside as Sasuke stood, clutching his item close and glaring at her. "What was that for," he growled and Sakura's smile faded. "I found you laying there and I thought you were knocked out," Sakura explained and pulled out her blue vase. "We should work together to get to the towers. My soul-sphere said we're probably going to get ambushed more often from here on."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "Mine said something similar." _As if that lazy answer was help, _he thought in annoyance as Sakura nodded and led the way through the sea of grass. "So how did you get through the forest?" Sakura asked. "...I was attacked by some weird monkey things...I saw some Rageneth while I was walking but they didn't notice me, and Angard ambushed me," Sasuke recalled.

"What's a Rageneth?" The kunochi in front of him asked and looked her shoulder. "The cat things we saw when we came here," Sasuke replied and Sakura nodded. "Ah, okay. I had to fight some really weird rabbits, they were really cute and stuff but when I got near them they just turned vicious...and I was attacked by some monkeys too so I think we both faced the same thing. And I was attacked by an Elder named Ocerinaeh."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and that effectively ended their communication for most of their travel.

_8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8_

Sasuke was panting heavily and Sakura was limping by his side as they abandoned the carcasses of two Rageneth parents who apparently thought the two genin had come too close to ther den. The raven was clutching his side to try and stop a heavy blood flow while Sakura had deemed her right leg to be sprained and was hobbling close to Sasuke's side, using the Uchiha's opposite shoulder to stay upright.

They had also been ambushed previously by four Daemons in black hoods and robes, and Sasuke recgonized one as the woman who had hurried Draycl away earlier as she had given him quite a headache with a blow she had delivered to the side of his skull. "We should...be almost there..." Sakura panted and Sasuke nodded as the looming towers came agonizingly slower towards the two. Then they both groaned as the air shifted in front of them, the towers wavering and reappearing farther away from them. "Impossible," Sasuke muttered. There was no way this was a genjutsu!

"Never mind," Sakura said lowly and her head slumped down to look at the ground as they walked. By now, Sasuke was half-dragging the kunochi and he was getting light-heading from the blood loss that he was sustaining and he knew he couldn't last much longer. _"Wait a sec," _Nagen called out and drifted from behind Sasuke to the raven's side. There, Sasuke looked down and saw the soul-sphere flash suddenly a startling white and an orange streak passed over his wound where the flesh began to knit together and flow like water.

The sensation itched and Sasuke tried to ignore the feeling as Nagen drifted to his head and the process repeated itself, blood that flowed from a gash he had on his forehead vanishing as the itching continued. Then the orange soul-sphere hovered in front of the raven as he continued to pull Sakura next to him. _"I can't do anything for the girl," _Nagen said and zoomed upward to float near Sasuke's hair.

"Fine," Sasuke said in reply and realized that Sakura not only had a sprained leg but a horrible slash that ran across the length of her spine and cut through her shirt, blood pooling around her feet as she shuffled. Sighing, and knowing he would regret this later, Sasuke took Sakura into his arms and placed her on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and starting to jog briskly.

"...Sasuke-kun...what're you do...ing?" Sakura slurred, her voice riddled with unspoken pain as the raven ran through the grass. "Getting us to the tower so we can get this over with," the raven muttered in reply and jumped over a large boulder in his path. "...'Kay..." Sakura whispered and then she was silent. Sasuke was about to panic when he felt her heartbeat flutter for the slightest moment against his back, but then it picked up again and remained steady.

"Why can't you do anything for her?" Sasuke asked Nagen as he ran, trying to keep his mind off of his current situation. _"Well...she's a woman," _Nagen said. Sasuke grimaced. "That doesn't help me at all!" He yelled. _"Alright, chill. I was a man when I was alive, so I am more aware of male physiology than I am of a female. If I tried to heal her I could mess something up with her body that wouldn't necessarily affect yours."_

_As if a cut on her back means anything, _Sasuke thought begrudingly but kept his mouth shut as a tower loomed in front of him, this time not wavering like before. _"You will want to go for the middle tower," _Nagen said and an image of eight towers from a high vantige point flashed in Sasuke's mind, four on one side of a tower and three on the other. _"The rest are filled with traps and monsters that you can't take right now."_

"Right," Sasuke muttered and bypassed the first two towers that he ran by, hearing various snarls and cries coming from the one to his right and catching sight of the tower he was supposed to be running to just ahead in a deep valley. Pushing his legs harder, the raven tightened his grip on Sakura's left leg, careful to not jostle her right too much and ran as fast as he could past two more towers and suddenly came to a stop in front of a set of heavy wooden doors in the wall of the tower Nagen had pointed out.

The soul-sphere drifted past Sasuke and floated in an odd circle in front of the doors. _"Open the left door only," _he said._ "The right one is booby-trapped." _Sasuke nodded and reached out with his right arm, swinging the door inward and stepping inside the blissfully cool room, the ceiling arching high above him and a spiral-staircase in the middle of the room.

Looking down, Sasuke saw numerous female Daemons rushing towards him and taking Sakura off his back gently, murmuring assurances that they would take care of her. Looking around, the raven also saw Kakashi and Angard standing to the side, both of them wearing near identical looks of pride on their faces. They walked forward at the same time and Sasuke turned to face them, wincing as Angard placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You did well," the Daemon praised and Kakashi nodded next to him. "The test normally takes several weeks to complete, but you and Sakura managed it in four days," Angard said happily. Sasuke nodded, not wanting to talk, he was too tired...

"Let's get you upstairs. You can sleep and tomorrow you and Sakura will get your Marks," Kakashi murmured and Sasuke felt to Jounin begin to guide him towards the spiral-staircase, where Consecro stood in the shadows, watching the Uchiha with vengeful eyes.


	16. Dusk

Dusk

* * *

Sasuke blinked his eyes as a puff of air blew against his nose. Looking up slowly, he saw Kakashi's masked face leaning in _very _close to his face. "What the hell?!" Sasuke shouted and Kakashi moved away, revealing a highly arched stone ceiling with ornate chandeliers dangling on beautiful carved strips of iron, forged to appear like vines hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh, you're awake," Kakashi said cheerfully and Sasuke turned his head to the side, glaring at his sensei who was holding his orange book in his hand and sitting in a high-backed chair made of some marble material. "No shit. What were you doing?" Sasuke hissed and winced as he tried to sit up and a jolt ran through his ribs.

"Just checking your temperature," Kakashi replied easily and crossed his legs while pulling his book back up to his face. "With your nose?" Sasuke asked irritably. "You are so detail-oriented sometimes Sasuke..." Kakashi's voice murmured muffled from behind the pages of his book. "It's called 'making sure I don't get raped'," Sasuke replied and turned his head to the left to observe an oval window letting dim red light into the room, covered with a criss-cross of slender sticks.

High bookshelves reached up to the ceiling on either side of the opening, arching over the window to meet each other. "How long has it been..." Sasuke asked drowsily. "About three days. You and Sakura were pretty beaten up," Kakashi said lazily. "Oh...where's Na- my soul-sphere?" "I believe Angard said it is...resting? Ah, yes, resting in the chambers."

Sasuke nodded and looked up. "So what now?" He asked slowly. "Oh...yes...you already have your Mark. Look at your arm," Kakashi said and waved his hand towards Sasuke's right forearm. The raven turned it over and indeed saw three black dots in a row at the base of his forearm and bicep on the inside of his arm.

"...And this will let us get into the base?" The Uchiha said curtly. "Yes. Sakura is receiving her's right now...however the Daemons say there is an...ah, issue with her physical wellbeing," Kakashi murmured. "What do you mean," Sasuke growled, afraid of being set back from getting Naruto back even more.

"..The Rageneths that attacked you when you were in the fields, they were...special. Sakura seems to be reacting poorly to the natural poison they produced. And...well, she could die." Sasuke stared at Kakashi, speechless.

Sakura, dead? Sasuke couldn't imagine it. Sure, she was annoying and terribly clingy, but Sasuke had learned to endure her presence and at times actually enjoy her input during one of the petty arguments Naruto would start with him. And if Sasuke didn't know any better...

He would have sworn he considered Sakura to be a friend.

"But I thought this was Hell," Sasuke asked lowly. "Isn't everyone here dead?" "Not us," Kakashi said. "Nor are the Daemons. And, well...Demons aren't really 'living'. But the fact is that the nurses don't know if they can keep Sakura alive long enough to get her to a medical ward in the main Daemon province."

Sasuke winced as he imagined Sakura laying, body cold as ice, on a hard steel table. And as much as he hated to admit it, the annoying rosette was almost an important asset to the chemistry Team 7 possessed...almost. "...But what does this mean for the mission?" Sasuke asked quietly. Kakashi released a loud breath. "Well, they estimate it will take three to five days just to get Sakura in a good enough condition to transport to the compound," Kakashi stated.

"And if we want Sakura healed fast, the soonest they say they can give her a medicine that she will respond to is about a week and a half." Sasuke grimaced and tried to sit up again, wincing as another sting of pain lanced up his side. "We can't wait that long!" He shouted. "I want Naruto _back_!" Kakashi stood up suddenly, his chair scraping on the floor and his book falling by his feet while he glared at the Uchiha with unusual intensity.

"We all want Naruto back!" Kakashi hissed, his eye narrowing. "Sakura, me, Angard, we all want him back! But it's either her life or his right now Sasuke, and if we waste hers what good will it do Naruto?! What if we need Sakura on this mission?!" "And what if waiting kills Naruto!" Sasuke yelled back, finding in his anger the strength to sit up and clench his fists by his sides, sharnigan blazing.

"If waiting for Sakura means exchanging Naruto's life, then all of this was for nothing!" The raven continued. "And if Sakura dies Sasuke, then how do you expect Naruto to react when and if we tell him? What will we say? 'Sakura died because Sasuke was too impatient'?" Kakashi snarled, suddenly seeming very hostile in comparison to his usual laid-back attitude.

"We are wasting Naruto's life by sitting here," Sasuke insisted. "And we are endangering Sakura's by even _considering _leaving!" "How about we ask Sakura what she thinks?" A new voice asked lowly, drawing Kakashi and Sasuke's attention towards the staircase, where Angard stood leaning against a gleaming brass pole with his arms crossed, brown and blue eyes dark with seriousness.

Leaning forward, the Daemon unlinked his arms and strode forward, his white toga billowing behind himself as he glided forward to stand at the foot of Sasuke's bed. Looking to Kakashi, the brunette grimaced. "She's awake now," he said bluntly. "And if you'd like to include her on this decision, then I reccomend you go talk to her." Kakashi nodded and looked back at Sasuke, who was staring at Angard.

"I will be there soon," the wolf murmured and Angard nodded, looking towards the raven gaping at him. "And you Sasuke," the brunette began. "Take this." Angard held out his palm, revealing a small red pill in his hand for Sasuke to reach out and take into his own grasp, staring at his own small reflection in the orb curiously. "It numbs your wounds," Angard explained and gestured to Sasuke's hand. "You won't feel anything as long as it's in your mouth."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he placed the object on his tongue and felt a warm sensation spread throughout his torso and legs, blissfully erasing any aches that he wasn't even aware were there and leaving him feeling completely refreshed. "Why can't we have medicine like this in the Overworld," the Uchiha muttered in astonishment, eyes wide as he sat up fully in his bed and twisted his back, stretching.

"Because it would throw off the balance of our development," Kakashi replied and stepped back as Sasuke stood up, the raven sending a confused but angry glare at the wolf, still upset over the argument from earlier but unwilling to continue it...yet. _How can he be so fucking stupid? _Sasuke thought angrily. "Let's go," Kakashi said to Angard and the Daemon nodded, turning to lead the two shinobi toward the spiral staircase.

"What did you mean by it would throw off the balance of our development?" Sasuke asked as he and Kakashi trailed behind Angard as they descended from the ceiling towards an orchestra of loud voices clammering against one another. "We need to eventually make the technology ourselves in order to achieve that kind of medicine. If we borrow it from another civilization it will start a chain reaction of events that were never meant to happen...ne," Kakashi muttered in reply and put his book in his pocket.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in reply, following the brunette in front of him as they stopped on a floor of the tower that Sasuke was unfamiliar with, large windows dominating the walls while soul-spheres zipped in the air like large, bright butterflies. Underneath the flashing colors were dozens of female Daemons, all of them wearing their hair down in intricate fashions and a multitude of colors ranging from black to snow white, dressed in plain white dresses and murmuring amongst themselves.

Angard strode forward and bent down as a young girl dressed like the women ran up to him, speaking in hushed tones in a language unfamiliar to Sasuke, her small hands gesturing as she talked. Brow furrowing, Angard nodded tensely and the girl ran off as he turned to face the shinobi behind him. "What's up?" Kakashi asked. "Apparently Consecro has gone missing," Angard said and looked at Sasuke. "What exactly happened between you two?" The brunette asked and Sasuke felt a sour taste in his mouth.

"I went into the soul-sphere room to get Nag- my soul-sphere, and he was burning my hitai-ate and Naruto's," the raven said slowly, his tounge feeling heavy. "He said something about mortal possesions not being allowed here." Angard nodded. "You have to understand Sasuke," he said. "That the Damned are the humans who were not good enough to get to Heaven. Either by mistake or the choices they made in life. And they tend to be very bitter towards the living who visit here.

"They do not have possesions of their own, nor do they get to bring things that they owned in life here. So when a living creature, like you for example, leaves something like that around, they get very...jealous." Sasuke nodded. "But Consecro was so...nice before that," he stated. Angard sighed and picked at something on his robe. "Most Daemons try to keep their Damned as comfortable as possible," the brunette stated and began to walk towards the other end of the circular room, drawing Kakashi and Sasuke with him.

"Especially my clan, the Ignatis. Some say we spoil them, but this place is indeed Hell, so it's punishment enough to just _be _here. And they don't let the opportunity to relax just pass by, because they are here to serve, and serve for eternity. They feel extremely bitter and they hide that around their superiors in fear of being sent to the Hole or to the Quarry. But when around a human...they change."

Angard stopped suddenly at a group of Daemon women clustered around something. Speaking in that same strange language, he made a parting motion with his hands and Sasuke saw the women bow and step away, revealing Sakura laying underneath a high window, a wet towel on her forehead and her eyes half-lidded. Kakashi went to stand by the left side of her bed while Sasuke went to the other, leaving Angard at the foot of her bed, talking to one of the Daemons.

"Hey Sakura," Kakashi said lightly. "How you feeling?" "Like I was trampled by a herd of cows," the rosette hissed and looked at Sasuke. "Hi Sasuke-kun," she said hoarsely and Sasuke barely managed to contain a wince. "Hey," he replied and crossed his arms. "We need to talk," he muttered and Sakura's gaze dimmed. "I think I know what it is," she murmured. "You do?" Kakashi asked in surprise. Sasuke was astonished as well, at Sakura catching on so quickly.

"Yeah. I get it, I want to get Naruto too.." Sakura whispered. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "And you know that staying here will prolong Naruto's suffering?" The Uchiha asked and Kakashi sent him a nasty glare. Sakura nodded. "...I don't want him hurting anymore," she said softly. "Not after what we saw in the soul-sphere..." "THAT'S IT!" Angard suddenly exclaimed, causing Sasuke and Kakashi to leap back and draw ther weapons and for Sakura to shriek.

Angard was watching the trio with wide eyes, which were sparkling with excitement as Sasuke and Kakashi stood straight and put their various blades away. "Sakura can come with us as a soul-sphere," Angard said quickly. "We can transfer her consciousness to an empty sphere while her body is healed here. That way, she can come and help while not putting herself in danger."

Sakura gasped in surprise. "You can do that?" she asked happily and Sasuke didn't bother to hide his astonishment at the possibilty of bringing Sakura along. "Is that truly possible?" the raven asked curiously. Angard nodded. "It shouldn't take more than a few minutes," he continued. "And after that Sakura can move as she pleases as a soul-sphere, because she will be in full control of her movements and her body may remain in the Underworld for healing!"

"...But what if they can't save my body?" Sakura whispered tensely. Angard's smile fell slowly from his face. "...Then you would be stuck as a soul-sphere until we either found a way to revitalize your major organs...or found a way to release your soul," the brunette replied gravely and Sakura seemed to pale. "...Sakura, are you sure you want to do this?" Kakashi asked lowly. Sasuke watched the rosette carefully, suddenly feeling apprehensive towards putting is his teammate in this predicament.

Sakura shut her eyes for a moment, her jaw clenching and releasing as she stiffened in thought. _Come on Sakura...make up your mind, _Sasuke thought nervously as the silence prolonged and everything in the room seemed to move slower as Sakura continued to remain mute. Kakashi shifted from foot to foot and Angard tugged on a split end in his ponytail, one of the two occasionally coughing while Sakura remained motionless.

Then her jade green eyes opened, filled with determination. "I'll do it...on one condition," she said finally, and Sasuke sighed in relief. "Which is?" Angard asked while beckoning for a nurse. "...I get to be trained in medical assistance," the kunochi stated. Kakashi's eye widened and even Sasuke was surprised by the demand. "Certainly Tsunade-sama can train you," the wolf said in shock. "After all, one of her former teammates is tutoring Naruto. Surely she would take you as an apprentice."

Sakura nodded. "I've considered that," she asked, but continued to stare at Angard. "But there are things here that would be very useful on Earth. Nothing too major...but I would like to learn them regardless. Is that alright Angard?" The Daemon stood thoughtful for a moment, his hand resting on his chin as he gazed at the ceiling. "...As long as you don't learn anything that will affect your civilization too much...I suppose it will be alright," he murmured, and Sakura smiled.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "So...when do we begin?" Sasuke asked anxiously. "Right now, I suppose..." Angard said and walked off, waving over his shoulder as he did so. "Stay here," the brunette called as he walked downstairs.

_8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8_

"Alright, I have the empty soul-sphere here," Angard said and gestured to a clear crystal ball floating next to Sakura's head, which was held inside a gold bowl filled with ice blue water that caused her short pink hair to wave around her head like small pieces of grass in a lake. "Sasuke, once her consciousness is inside of it, you will have to make sure she doesn't fall. Soul-spheres are tough, but it takes time for them to get like that and if she hits the ground, she breaks and she's dead."

"So pretty much, you'll be holding her life in your hands," Kakashi said from behind Sasuke, where he was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered and the Uchiha stepped closer. "Please get Naruto back safely," she begged quietly as Sasuke bent down to listen to her quiet words. He nodded and stood straight as Angard tapped his shoulder. "Get ready," he warned. "Sakura, you need to focus on something very important to you. Close your eyes and concentrate. You'll feel like your vision is bring sucked through a large tube," Angard continued and placed his hands on the rosette's forehead.

"And you're sure I'll be alright?" Sakura asked weakly and coughed. "As long as Sasuke doesn't drop you, you'll be fine." Then without further warning, Angard began humming and the light in the room dimmed, even the glow from the soul-spheres buzzing about and was sucked into Angard's hands, pulsating and rolling around his fingers in multi-colored waves as his hums grew louder. Sakura's eyelids fluttered shut and the soul-sphere above Sasuke's waving hands began to shudder, small wisps of fog appearing in its depths.

Angard opened his mouth and started to chant in a light tone, the words flowing like water from his lips and the glow in his hands reaching over to the empty orb, being sucked inside the container and swirling in a rapid whirlpool in a cascade of color. Sasuke watched in fascination as the vortex slowly ebbed, transforming into an emerald green with pink bits of mist and black flecks in their depths swimming about. Then the soul-sphere dropped out the air, landing with a soft thump in Sasuke's hands and feeling very warm in his palms.

Angard's words slowly softened and eventually silenced, the light in the room slowly coming back and the soul-spheres that drifted about above began to buzz and hum. _"...Sasuke-kun?" _A voice drifted slowly, hesitantly from the orb in Sasuke's hands. "Sakura?" He asked in reply, lifting to object to his eye-level and examining it.

_"I guess it worked," _Sakura said, her voice muddled with drowsiness. _"I'm really tired..." _"That's to be expected," Angard said and stepped around the bed that held Sakura's motionless body. "You pretty much were just reborn. It takes a lot of energy." Footsteps from behind Sasuke sounded and suddenly a mop of white hair poked the right of Sasuke's face as Kakashi leaned over his shoulder to look at Sakura's soul-sphere. _"..." _Sakura sighed, but didn't seem to want to reply as the flecks in her depths slowed.

"She's sleeping," Angard noted. Then he looked out a window. "I believe it is time to prepare to return to the Overworld, no?" Sasuke looked up at the statement. "This soon?" He asked. Angard shrugged. "Why not?" he asked. "Sakura can rest and we can get to the Deceived faster. Besides, I thought you wanted to leave as soon as possible." "But I would have thought we would have to gather supplies. And what about my wounds?" Sasuke replied and pointed at his ribcage.

"Already done," Kakashi drawled and stepped to the side. "And that pill I gave you can last months," Angard stated and went to descend down the spiral staircase, Sasuke hurrying behind him. "And by then your wounds will be healed. So we will go back to the compound and prepare to depart." A rush of rare excitement pulsed in Sasuke's heart as they reached the main level of the tower and Angard began to gather Damned around himself and give orders.

_I'm coming for you Naruto._

_8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8_

Water cascaded down Sasuke's neck and back as he bent his head against the stream of liquid in the black marble shower of his blue bathroom in Angard's estate, his muscles relaxing in the steam of the water is it hit lightly on the tiled floor.

Sasuke shut his eyes and thought of Nagen, who was currently heading for the Overworld, where he would alert Ira and Kunae of his arrival, along with Kakashi, Angard, and the soul-sphere Sakura and await there to help rescue Naruto.

The raven clenched his fist as images of Naruto laying on that cold stone table filled his head and flickered across his closed eyelids and screams of pain echoed in his ears. He growled and bent his head more, the water hitting the base of his neck and dripping from his bangs, which were plastered to his forehead.

He grew angrier as he thought of the man who had taken Naruto in the first place. _How dare they take him, _Sasuke thought angrily and slammed his fist against the black marble wall. _How could they do this to me? To HIM?! _Opening his eyes, Sasuke saw blood oozing from his clenched fingers that were pressed against the wall and slowly released the tension in his hands, letting them fall against his sides limply.

Turning to let the water fall on his back fully, Sasuke gently ran his fingers against the healing gash in his side, still astonished to find that he felt no pain in the motion. Breathing deeply, he let the steam float against his face and a wave of warmth spread through his limbs as he combed a hand through his hair and found the small cuts he had placed in his palms suddenly healed.

Turning again, Sasuke reached to a valve and turned it, slowly shutting the water off as he leaned his head against the warm rock, standing for a few moments leaning against the stone until he straightened up and opened the double glass doors of the shower, reaching for a white towel made of a strange material softer than cotton and wrapping it around his torso and waist and taking another to dry his hair.

Shutting the doors behind himself, the raven stepped forward towards the sink and mirror across the room while drying himself off, stopping to gaze at his face as he dried his hair. The Uchiha studied his features closely, trying to find any resemblance to his traitorous older brother. Pleased to find that he possessed none other than the typical Uchiha traits, Sasuke wrapped a towel around his middle and another on top of his head and went to swing open the wooden door that seperated the blue and white bathroom from the dim red bedroom.

He had laid out his clothing earlier, including his katana, which he had named Kusanagi because of how easily it cut through nearly any material as he had tested earlier, especially when he channeled a chidori through its blade, on his bed, alongside his own hitai-ate and Naruto's. The Uchiha strode forward and dressed quickly, slipping into his shirt and pants and tying his purple rope around his waist, putting in his sandals and arm guards while packing the hitai-ates into his tan traveling pack.

Placing the katana at his back, Sasuke sat up from his bed and looked around the room, his eyes resting on the red soul-sphere that lit the room. Gazing at it for a few moments, Sasuke listened to the wind that blew outside his windows. Then he sighed and stood gracefully, heading for his bedroom door and stepping out into the hallway, where a few Damned bustled about, taking orders from Daemons or tidying the area around them.

"Ah, Master Sasuke," one male servant said and stepped forward. "Master Angard is expecting you in the soul-sphere chamber," he continued and bowed as Sasuke nodded wordlessly, sweeping past the man and gliding towards the heavy double doors that lay across the courtyard. Walking past the large oak table, Sasuke noticed that a meeting of some sort was taking place amongst the older looking Daemons, many of whom were on their feet and shouting at one another in angry tones as the raven stepped inside the soul-sphere room.

Glancing around, Sasuke saw Kakashi and Angard sitting in front of a familiar square parchment, the brunette holding Sakura's soul-sphere in his palm as he seemed to meditate. "There's our princess," Kakashi said as Sasuke sat down next to him. The raven glared at the Jounin, who seemed to grin in return before focusing his attention on Angard.

The Daemon blinked open his blue eye, gazing at the shinobi lazily. "You know what happens here," he drawled and bit his thumb, drawing blood. "We'll be ending up in Hokage Tower," he said. Then he pressed his thumb to the ink.

The next thing Sasuke saw was Ira's worried lavender eyes in front of his own. Blinking furiously, the raven groaned and rubbed his head, which was pounding heavily and there was a loud ringing in his ears. Sitting up, Ira moved with him and Sasuke felt her hands behind his back, supporting him as he stood up shakily.

Then the blonde stepped back and Sasuke saw that he was indeed in Hokage Tower as Angard had said, inside the office in fact, and noticed that Ira was wearing a light grey long sleeved shirt with black metal arm guards and red leather pants with black wedged sandals, her long platinum hair hanging over her shoulders.

"What has happened to all of you?!" She exclaimed suddenly and rushed past Sasuke to hug Angard fiercely, who as Sasuke turned to watch the blonde curiously was just standing up from crouching on the floor. "What do you mean Sister? It shouldn't have taken more than two or three weeks to get here," Angard replied soothingly and patting his sister's back as Kakashi rose behind him. Ira stepped back.

"Two to three weeks?" She asked lowly. "Try three _years!_"


	17. Starlight

Starlight

* * *

_**Previously...**_

_"What has happened to all of you?!" Ira exclaimed suddenly and rushed past Sasuke to hug Angard fiercely, who as Sasuke turned to watch the blonde curiously was just standing up from crouching on the floor. "What do you mean Sister? It shouldn't have taken more than two or three weeks to get here," Angard replied soothingly and patting his sister's back as Kakashi rose behind him. Ira stepped back._

_"Two to three weeks?" She asked lowly. "Try three years!"_

* * *

Sasuke gaped at the blonde standing in front of him, not even bothering to shut his mouth in his shock. He saw Kakashi watching the Daemon with similar surprise, his visible eye wide as he crouched forward. "What do you mean Ira?" The Jounin asked. "We sent a soul-sphere here-" "three years ago," Ira interrupted and turned towards her brother.

"Brother, your trip here took three years," the blonde insisted. She waved her hand behind herself towards Sasuke, her hair swinging behind her back. "Take a look at the child! Has he not changed back to his original thirteen year old form?" Kakashi and Angard both looked towards the raven and Angard's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

Looking down at his chest, Sasuke saw that the clothes from the Underworld still clung to his frame quite comfortably, not oversized as he would have expected since the last time he was here he was thirteen, much smaller than a sixteen year old. He looked back up at the three adults who were watching him warily. "...How did this happen," he growled out past clenched teeth.

"I have no clue..." Angard whispered. "Sister, is there some sort of mistake? Surely our arrival did not take that long..." "Look at the Hawk-Child for all the proof you need Brother," Ira shouted and again gestured to Sasuke. "I am not sure what happened, but it took you three years to get here. Those two-" Ira gestured angrily towards Sasuke and Kakashi- "Are lucky I was able to create clones for their team so no-one became suspicious! And on top of the Kunae and I have been keeping track of the Fox Child, and his aura vanished four weeks after you left!"

Sasuke's heart plummeted to his feet at the statement. "What do you mean his aura vanished?" He yelled towards the blonde Daemon, who whirled around to glare at the raven with hostile lavender eyes. "Everything that is implied Hawk-Child," she hissed. "I have lost sight of him for the past three years because of whatever happened to you three in the Underworld! Not to mention you turned a human into a soul-sphere! Brother, you _know _that is not in our place to decide!"

Ira turned and pushed her hand into Angard's chest, shoving the brunette back and into a bookshelf, where several books clattered to the floor around their feet. "Ira, calm down," Angard said and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, who in turn shoved it away.

"The Hokage has been worried sick about the Fox-Child," the blonde snarled and shoved Angard again. "I thought I told you to not tell her!" Angard exclaimed and Kakashi went to stand by Sasuke's left, watching the duo warily. "When you disappear for three years she is bound to know! As it is Kunae and I have had enough trouble predicting what those four would appear to be at this age so they progressed in life without suspicion! We couldn't keep your secret from her forever!"

"This is not my fault!" Angard bellowed, and Sasuke saw the whirlpool tattoo on his hand begin to rotate violently. "Angard..." He muttered, trying to get both Daemons' attention, but they were so absorbed in their dispute that they did not notice.

"Whatever has happened is not of my doing!" The brunette continued and Ira hissed in anger as he pushed her away, his stance shifting into a defensive position. "How dare you assume I have done this Ira? You know full well I will do everything in my power to protect Naruto!" Angard then yelled and Ira's hand suddenly held a ball of green flame, the fire crackling and sizzling in her palm as she raised it to her eye-level.

"Then you haven't done enough," she muttered and the projectile flung from her hand, zooming in the air towards Angard. The Daemon leapt up and punched through the roof as the bookshelf behind him erupted into a cascade of emerald flame in a whoosh of air, the dim light filling that corner of the room while Ira followed him upward, smashing the ceiling as well and bits of plaster raining down on Sasuke's head.

"Let's go," Kakashi muttered and nodded towards the two holes above their heads. Sasuke turned and followed the Jounin out of an open window on the far wall, climbing up the outside wall to the roof, where they barely managed to dodge a flaming...something that was flung their way.

As the shinobi rolled onto the roof, Sasuke looked up and his eyes widened to comical proportions as he saw something he would have never imagined.

Angard and Ira both were completely shrouded in black, barely discernible aside from Ira's now jet black hair and lavender eyes peeking out of the midnight cloak and Angard's height and mismatched eyes. The two shadow figures leapt at one another repeatedly, their fists colliding faster than the human eye could follow before leaping back in some sort of extraordinary dance. The two were shouting in their strange language as they impacted over and over, every now and then some sort of magical attack being fired and deflected away.

Kakashi meanwhile stood up next to Sasuke as the raven crouched, keeping low as a blade whistled past his head while grazing the hair that spiked up above his neck. "This is ridiculous," the wolf said and stepped forward while pulling out an exploding kunai from his weapons pouch, flinging it forward carelessly into the center of the siblings' battle.

The weapon detonated and the figures were flung back, landing on their sides and skidding to opposite edges of the roof while Kakashi walked forward to retrieve his now smoldering blade and wiping it clean with the edge of his glove.

"Both of you are grown adults, yeah?" Kakashi said loudly as Angard and Ira stood, their black forms vanishing as they rose and looked at Kakashi angrily. "Start acting like it then." Sasuke stood fully as his sensei strode back to him and turned to watch the two Daemons advance towards him.

"You had no right to interfere Wolf-Child," Ira muttered as she stopped in front of Sasuke and glaring at Kakashi. "You were going to destroy half the village if your battle continued. I had every right," Kakashi replied calmly and crossed his arms. Angard sighed and rubbed at his arm, where a long burn mark tore into the white sleeve of his robe.

"He's right Ira. We were completely immature to behave in such a manner," the brunette murmured. Ira's gaze softened. "I suppose so," the blonde replied. "But I mean it Brother. Kunae and I do not think this situation could have gone any worse." "Where is Kunae anyway?" Kakashi asked. "She went to the Decieved's base to scout out the curse rings," Ira replied.

Sasuke nodded. "And where is my soul-sphere?" He questioned and Ira reached into her pants pocket, drawing out a dim orange sphere with blue and white flecks. "It is resting," she said lowly and handed to orb out to Sasuke, who took it in his own palm and feeling the warm glow in his hands.

"Now on the subject of soul-spheres..." Ira muttered and turned to Angard again. "How could you do that to a human Brother? You know it is forbidden!" Angard's gaze narrowed, his left blue eye a small slit and his brown eye appearing almost black.

"Ira, listen to me..." Angard leaned forward and murmured into his sister's ear, Sasuke unable to hear their words but able to guess as to what the brunette was speaking of. Ira's lavender eyes widened as Angard spoke, then as the Daemon stepped away she opened... her mouth to speak.

"...While the reason is...valid...it does not excuse the fact that you blatantly went against the High Elders wishes!" The blonde insisted and Angard groaned in frustration. "Come on Ira, as if you have followed his orders in the past!" the Daemon replied angrily.

Ira clenched her jaw angrily and glared at her brother. "That isn't the point," she hissed. "What is the point, however, is that you _transferred _a human consciousness into something meant for dead people!" Kakashi coughed and pointed behind himself towards the sinking sun.

"In case you haven't noticed, it is getting late and I hate to break up this family reunion...but I would like to go home and if I recall there's a second me running around here," Kakashi said lazily and Sasuke nodded in agreement. "I'd like to not have to deal with anyone talking to me either," he added on and Ira nodded.

"Of course. I apologize," the blonde said and turned to face the two humans fully. "Your clones act much like Kage Bunshin, and once they dissipate you will achieve their memories, their experiences as if they were your own. Be warned however; some you may not like...and others you will wish had never happened."

Sasuke and Kakashi nodded, and Ira clapped her hands together in a prayer-like fashion, shutting her eyes and leaning her head down. "..Release," she breathed out and a rush of warm air brushed against Sasuke's face, causing him to close his eyes and an onslaught of information crashed in his head, moving too fast to follow as memories not his own combined with experiences he had already had.

Breathing heavily, he felt the eyes of Angard and Ira watching him as he stepped back, slowly opening his own eyes to see Kakashi clutching his hand close to his chest, eye wide with shock at something that he was remembering. "...Why can't I remember any of it?" Sasuke asked as he tried to accssess the memories that were inside his head, but almost seemed to be locked away inside the dark recesses of his mind.

"You are still young, Hawk-Child. You do not need your mind to be corrupted by magic," Ira explained and crossed her arms as if cold. "I have locked them away until you reach a certain age, that of which even I am uncertain of. But when you do, you will be able to remember.

"As for experiences with your former classmates and people you interact with, the magic I _have _placed on you is yours to use as you see fit. If you choose, you may hide yourself from others or even keep them away," Ira said and Sasuke looked down at his feet, seeing the shadows elongating from his limbs as the sun sank.

"Fine," he said and looked up to see Angard tending to Kakashi, the Jounin seeming to be in slight pain as he grasped at his hair with both hands and stared off into space with his eye narrowed. "When do we go get Naruto?"

Ira's gaze hardened. "My sister needs to give us the signal," the blonde replied. "However, she believes it will be many months yet until she can decipher and break the curse rings-" "We don't have months to waste," Sasuke hissed and stepped forward. "I've seen what they have been doing to Naruto in there, and if that has been going on for _three years _then we don't have time to be sitting around!" The raven slashed his arm at the air in front of him angrily.

"We need to act now," he muttered and Ira placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. "Patience, young one," she murmured and gazed into his eyes. The purple flashed suddenly and Sasuke felt a calming energy flow through his veins, despite how enraged and worried he still felt emotionally. "I never said we would wait that long. Kunae has managed to break through a section of the ring...but it's only big enough for two people to fit through."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and he opened his mouth to speak as Angard stepped forward with his arm around Kakashi's shoulders, supporting the wolf as they walked. "How about we get off the roof and go somewhere more comfortable?" The brunette asked and glanced at Kakashi. "Some of us need time to rest and recover."

Ira nodded. "We'll go to my home," she said and released Sasuke from her grasp, gliding around the Uchiha to climb down the roof and enter the Hokage's office once more. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Kakashi and Angard, who were both slowly making their way towards the edge of the roof while the Jounin limped in obvious strain.

"Is he okay?" Sasuke asked lamely, the words seeming completely oblivious once they left his mouth. A very un Uchiha-like thing to do. "Some of his memories, I assume, are not pleasant," Angard replied and tugged Kakashi forward gently. His brow furrowing, Sasuke turned away and leapt down the roof, turning and entering the broken window of the Hokage Tower. _What if my memories are just as bad...or worse? _Sasuke thought worriedly as he glanced behind himself to make sure Angard and Kakashi were following.

Mind occupied by the disturbing thoughts of what his clone could have possibly experienced, Sasuke was busy muttering to himself and looking at the floor as he exited the room, not noticing the woman who was approaching from the opposite direction who likewise was not paying attention to the space on front of her.

The two collided in the doorway, causing Sasuke to stagger back and whip his head up to viciously glare at whoever got in his way as the woman opposite of him did the same, her almond-shaped hazel eyes flashing in the low light. Then her eyebrows rose as she slowly took in the Uchiha's appearance. "...Sasuke?" She whispered, standing straight with her blonde pigtails swishing behind her back.

Sasuke shifted as he stood up as well, listening as Angard and Kakashi landed with a thump inside of the room while Tsunade glanced around the raven at the noise. "Kakashi," she breathed out. "And Sakura...?" Sasuke reached into his traveling pack, pulling out the dim green orb. Tsunade's eyes narrowed once more. "So what Ira said was true," she murmured. "I guess I should have believed her all the same..."

"Tsunade...sama..." Sasuke greeted stiffly, grounding out the honorific at the end while placing Sakura back into his bag. "You know of what is happening?" "I've been filled in," the blonde muttered in reply and walked around Sasuke towards her desk, the raven turning to watch her.

"Angard," the blonde greeted respectfully, to which the Daemon bowed in return. "Hokage-sama," he replied and stood up straight with his hand on Kakashi's back. "I have heard much of your deeds. I must say, it is impressive." Tsunade offered the brunette a rare smile, to which Sasuke was shocked, since the only other person she smiled at when he was around was...

"Your compliment means much to me," Tsunade said, gesturing to Kakashi. "Will he be alright?" Angard nodded. "He should be," the brunette stated surely. "Should be?" Tsunade asked, arching an eyebrow. "He's just having trouble coping with the memories Hokage-sama. It'll take time."

Tsunade nodded and turned to Sasuke once more. "And where is Sakura?" The blonde asked. Sasuke reached into his pack and once more retrieved the "sleeping" rosette, holding her orb out for the Hokage to see. The Sannin stared at it for a few moments, then waved her hand at Sasuke, signaling for him to give it away.

"I understand Ira wishes to explain the...current situation to you three?" Tsunade questioned as she stepped around Kakashi and Angard to sit at her desk. "Yes Hokage-sama, and if you don't mind, we'd like to be filled in as soon as possible," Angard replied while Sasuke shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Tsunade nodded. "Understandable," she drawled while reaching under her desk, pulling out a bottle of sake and a small shot glass.

"However, if I must, I will come on this rescue mission myself. Not only is a powerful Jinchūriki missing, but..." Tsunade trailed off. Sasuke arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word that Tsunade had used to describe Naruto. "What is a 'Jinchūriki'?" He asked. "The word means 'the power of human sacrifice'...it is used to describe the hosts of the Bijuu," Angard replied before Tsunade could speak.

The blonde grimaced at the interruption, but still nodded in agreement. "Yes. And if the Council finds out about Naruto's disappearance, they will not be happy," Tsunade muttered. "It's not like they endorsed or supported keeping him safe in the first place, old hags...but even they understand that Naruto is very powerful. Or potentially is, since he has been gone for three years-"

"This has been great and all," Sasuke cut in, annoyance causing his brow to tick and his fists to clench. "But I would really appreciate it if we could go get Naruto as soon as possible." Tsunade growled under her breath, and Sasuke heard the words "I need a drink.." before she replied. "Of course. We will discuss the plan tomorrow," the blonde said with a wave of her hand, clearly dismissing the mini-meeting. As the raven turned to leave with Angard and Kakashi close behind, Tsunade called out "Oh, and Sasuke?"

"...Yes?" The Uchiha replied slowly, looking over his shoulder. Tsunade was silent for a few moments, making Sasuke think that he had imagined her summoning him. "...Welcome back," the Hokage said, and then he was ushered out the door by Angard, who was literally dragging Kakashi in tow.

_8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8_

Sasuke stood in front of a large cobblestone and wood building set on the outskirts of Konoha with a limp Kakashi in his arms, glaring at Ira who was currently _still _unlocking the front door to her house. Angard stood closely behind her, his foot tapping annoyingly on the ground as he attempted to assist her in solving the "puzzle" Ira had placed to keep intruders out.

"I apologize," she called back to Sasuke, who simply narrowed his eyes in return. "I haven't been home for many months. I'm sort of...out of practice with this kind of problem." "Maybe if you just had a lock and key this would go by easier," Sasuke muttered under his breath. "Put that there," Angard ordered and pointed around Ira's shoulder, the blonde moving her arm and Sasuke heard a click.

"Ah, here we go," Ira exclaimed happily and swung the front door open, Sasuke sighing in relief and moving to pull Kakashi inside of the home while Angard held the door open for the two shinobi to enter. As he crossed the threshold, the raven set Kakashi down on an ornate red rug and looked up to see a small entrance hall with wood paneling on the walls and oak floors, a staircase leading to the second floor and small offshoots running down the single hallway.

Lights flicked on all around the hall, but Sasuke saw no candles or lamps, and he was befuddled as to the source until a white orb floated past his nose. "Great, it's like the Underworld all over again," he muttered and stepped around Kakashi, leaving Angard to carry the Jounin to the room that was filled with the clanging of metal, finding Ira in a very messy kitchen with dishes scattered about the yellow and white tiled room. "Sorry for this," the blonde muttered and shoved pots into a rusty sink.

Then she snapped her fingers and a dining table appeared out of thin air, crashing on all four legs to the ground with four chairs surrounded its circular length. Sitting down, Ira gestured for Sasuke to do the same and he took the seat across from her, leaving Kakashi to be dumped into the chair to his left while Angard sat to his right. Ira snapped her fingers again and this time a yellow piece of parchment floated down from above and fluttered to the tabletop, and Sasuke saw the same bird's eye view from before of a sunny forest with strange black markings on the ground and barely visible figures weaving throughout the shadows.

"Now here," Ira said and pointed to a spot near the middle of the bottom of the map, "Is the closest Kunae could get to the Decieved's base. It is roughly three miles out geologically wise, but spell-wise it is the fastest way in considering we have managed to break through the curse rings completely on that side.

"As I said earlier, there is only enough room for two people to pass through. Once they do, the ring will close and someone will have to open it from the outside. Since no human can fully remove a curse, one of us will need to stay outside. Most likely Kunae. Now, as for who should go in..." Ira's finger traced a path towards the large black rock in the clearing. "Obviously you, Hawk-Child, must go. Since you are the last of your lineage, you are the only one who can move the rock. So that leaves a decision between myself and Angard: who goes?

"If you think about the defenses the Decieved have set up merely on the outside, I would be the better option since I am more used to handling animals and creatures of Demonic nature. But, I concieve that I am...not as comfortable with hand to hand combat, which I am sure you will come across on the inside." Ira gestured to Angard with her free hand with her lavender eyes trained on Sasuke's onyx.

"Angard is conceivably better in legit combat than I. However, I at least would like to leave the choice up to you Sasuke. Me, or him?" Sasuke blinked in surprise. "But what about Kakashi?" He asked and looked to his sensei. "And what will the one who I choose to stay behind do?" Ira nodded. "Reasonable questions," she replied and pointed to the opposite part of the map, nearest her.

"Whomever stays behind would go here to offer a second exit point lest the first be blocked for whatever reason. And clearly, the Wolf-Child is in no condition to battle, much less travel, so I would suggest leaving him in Konoha to recover." Sasuke nodded and looked at Angard. The brunette nodded slowly, as if silently telling Sasuke to take his time in his choice.

_Ira_ _would be more useful for actually getting in...But Angard can take the people inside and I'm not sure if I could handle the amount of people Ira said they have...and if Angard comes we have an even better chance of finding Naruto since we have Nagen and Sakura both, and Angard can sense where Naruto is...but wait, Ira can too. Ugh! This is so frustrating! _Sasuke thought, trying to keep his expression level. Ira too seemed to be lost in deep thought, her fingers drumming lightly on the table top as she stared at the ceiling.

Sasuke was about to open his mouth to state his decision when Ira held up her hand, eyes closed and effectively cut Sasuke off. "Angard will go," she said simply. Angard glanced at his sister in surprise. "I wouldn't expect you to give up such an honor Sister," he said, voice riddled with shock. Ira nodded and smiled at Sasuke. "I believe the Fox-Child will have a better chance of surviving if you go, Brother," she said. "Now Hawk-Child, when do you wish to leave?"

"Tomorrow," Sasuke said immediately, standing up. Ira grimaced. "Well I will have to pack for you then," she warned. "You will need as much rest possible if you are to possibly fight Daemons, and maybe even Demons." "I've already been through Hell," Sasuke replied dryly while turning to exit the room, assuming the bedrooms were upstairs. "That wasn't even close," he heard Ira mutter as he turned to corner.

As he ascended the stairs slowly, he heard Angard and Ira's voices speaking lowly, but he didn't care to listen in as he entered the dark hallway and saw at least five different doors all leading to different rooms. Picking one at random, Sasuke saw an empty bedroom with an open closet and unused mattress with a blanket and pillow shoved carelessly into the corner while the moon shone brightly through the window.

Striding to the pile, Sasuke picked up the blanket and pillow while dragging the mattress over to the center of the room and shutting the door, placing his bag on the floor and pulling out Sakura's soul-sphere, sitting cross-legged on the mattress and staring at her. "Sakura," he called out, hoping to get a response from the mute rosette. Nothing. "Sakura," he said louder. _"That isn't gonna get her attention dumbass," _a familiar voice said from behind the raven.

Turning, Sasuke saw the glowing orange orb just under the windowsill. "Nice to see you too," he muttered as the orb floated forward. "I must say Nagen, I missed your bitterly sweet comments," the raven said scathingly. _"And I was terribly lost without your sunshine personality," _Nagen replied dryly while hovering in between Sasuke's eyes.

_"So dumbass, what's new with you," _the orb said when Sasuke didn't respond to his jabbing remark. "Got my Mark, Sakura's a soul-sphere and we leave tomorrow," Sasuke replied absently. _"Woah, woah, woah. Sakura, that little pinky is a...soul-sphere?" _Nagen asked in shock. "Oh...yeah," Sasuke said as he realized what he had said. "She's...sick right now-" _"I know that part. I was there...dumbass. Explain to me what happened after I left, for three years mind you. Awful timing on your part dumbass."_

Sasuke scowled. "Yeah well...Angard said the only way to bring her was to make her into a soul-sphere..." Nagen seemed to recoil, bouncing back a few feet in the air. _"He turned a HUMAN into a soul-sphere?" _Nagen shouted. _"That child...I warned him when he was but a hatchling that humans are not meant for this kind of...this kind of...imprisonment!"_

A surge of orange light burst from the orb and Sasuke ducked as a beam shot towards his head and impacted the opposite wall. "Oi!" He shouted and reached out to grip the enraged soul-sphere. "Calm down! Nagen!" The soul-sphere was vibrating violently in Sasuke's palm and a rush of emotion suddenly pressed against Sasuke's mind. Rage, worry, grief...

_"If Sakura is not returned to her body Sasuke, horrible things will happen to her," _Nagen seemed to whisper. "...What do you mean?" Sasuke asked as he looked towards his bag, where Sakura currently lay unconscious in her soul-sphere. _"...Human souls are not meant to be trapped like this before their time. If she is not returned to her body...I fear she will go insane._

_"She can stay in this form and be fine, but if she doesn't go back into her own body for a certain amount of time and then suddenly returns...well, it won't be pretty." _Sasuke's brow furrowed. "How long does she have?" He asked slowly. _"Roughly two weeks," _Nagen replied. "What is with you people and the time period of two weeks," Sasuke groaned and flopped back to lay on the mattress. Nagen chuckled.

_"Shut up dumbass. Anyways, where is Sakura anyway. If she isn't awake then I can help her," _the orange orb said and floated out of Sasuke's grasp, hovering above his head near the dark ceiling. "In my pack...middle pocket," Sasuke yawned out. Nagen disappeared from view and the sound of rustling cloth could be heard. _"Go to sleep. I will wake you when Ira needs you," _Nagen murmured and Sasuke saw Sakura's soul-sphere float upward lazily in the corner of his closing eye.

"...Don't let me oversleep," he mumbled, sleep washing over him like a wave. Meanwhile, Nagen tried to wake Sakura up...and did not notice the dark shadow that flashed outside of the window.

* * *

So here's a little pronunciation/definition guide for my OCs...just in case you were wondering :)

Angard: _An-guard_

Ira: _Eye-rah (means "rage" in Latin)_

Kunae: _Coo-Nay  
_

Consecro: _Con-se-crow (means "cursed" in Latin)_

Draycl: _Dray (like "drape" without the "pe") quill_

Craiden: _(the crazy b*tch Sasuke killed): Cray (like "cray cray") den_

Rageneth:_ Rag-en-Eth (long "e" in "eth")_

Nagen: _Nah-gen_

So far, that's all my OCs :) there will be more, just putting it out there. If there's any questions you have about anything regarding my OCs lemme know because I'm currently working on a separate arc simply involving the Underworld, completely original stuff. Next chapter is actually going to be the last chapter...of this book :D if you are following my other SasuNaru story Crimson Eyes and have read the author's note, you know I plan on making this story a series.

Translation: shits bout to go down because I have some big plans for Sasuke and Naruto ;D if you're expecting any lovey-dovey stuff in the next chapter I'm sorry, but it isn't happening. But here's a spoiler, and if you don't wanna read it, skip it.

SPOILER-SPOILER-SPOILER

There's something dark hiding inside of the Decieved's base. And it make be closer to Sasuke than he might think.

SPOILER-SPOILER-SPOILER

Anywho, again any questions ask away and I plan on ending this novel next chapter and starting a new one after that. So until next update keep reading :)


	18. Supernova

Supernova

* * *

Sasuke was in a dark room, laying strapped against a table with metal restraints with a blinding light shining down on his face. "Hey!" He shouted and pushed against the bonds on his torso. "Let me go!" As he struggled, searing hot pain pushed into his forearms and he nearly screamed at the magnitude at which the wounds pierced his skin.

And _damn, _they hurt.

Pushing harder this time, Sasuke found with great dismay that his chakra was sealed and his muscles seemed to be in a very weak condition. "When I get out, I am going to rip whoever you people are limb from limb," the raven growled. As he tried to flex his fingers to wrap around the binds on his wrists, there was a clang of a metal something sliding against a stone floor, and then footsteps.

Narrowing his eyes against the harsh light above his head, Sasuke tried to move his neck to see the figure that now hovered on the edge of his vision, drenched in shadows. "Who are you," he snarled and fought again, to no avail. The figure was silent as it moved around Sasuke's table to stand at his feet, seemingly watching him while still just out sight.

Eying the shadow warily, Sasuke ceased his struggling and his breath quickened when the unmistakable flash of a blade caught the light as it was raised to the figure's face. "Let me go!" Sasuke screamed again, his throat burning from his shouts and he moved about even faster as the person strode to stand at his left, leaning over Sasuke's head and he froze in shock.

Because what he saw was Naruto's blonde hair and cold blue eyes staring back at him murderously as the knife plunged into his chest.

_"Oi, dumbass! Get up, Ira said it's time to go," _Nagen's monotone voice called through the searing pain of Sasuke's dream. The raven sat up quickly, his eyes snapping open to survey the area around himself, seeing that he was back in the bedroom that he had allowed himself into for the night.

Panting heavily, Sasuke felt a drip of sweat fall down his cheek and he rubbed at his face vigorously with his hands, scrubbing away any trace of weariness from his eyes. _"You ok kid?" _Nagen asked and Sasuke saw him float in by the edge of his vision. "...Bad dream," Sasuke replied lowly and tossed the covers off his body, looking out the window at the early morning sky, the stars fading away slowly against the purple and blue hue and white fluffy clouds.

_"Wanna talk about it?" _"Not really." Sasuke stood shakily, his legs wobbling as he went to retrieve his pack, finding Sakura not tucked away in the middle pouch along with his hitai-ate and Naruto's. "Where is Sakura?" He asked as he went through his backpacks contents, finding several strange items he didn't remember packing inside.

_"She went ahead to Kunae. She also told me to tell you that Kakashi isn't coming but he wishes you the best," _Nagen informed and went to float by the door as Sasuke held up a strange arrowhead type...thing, the tip a bright ruby while the rest of the object was made of obsidian. _"Ira packed for you last night," _Nagen explained. _"That is what is known as the devil's star. They're almost always lethal to...Daemons."_

"Why would she give it to me then," Sasuke asked as he turned to object over in his hand, examining it in the low light of the bedroom. _"Because there are Daemons who assist the Deceived, dumbass," _the soul-sphere replied lazily. Sasuke rolled his eyes and poked at the ruby tip with his index finger. A hiss of air escaped his lips as the weapon burned his skin. _"Don't touch it!" _Nagen yelled and appeared in Sasuke's face, the devil's star floating out of his hand while surrounded with an orange light in the shape of a hand.

_"All you humans are the same..." _Nagen muttered and the weapon floated back into Sasuke's bag. _"Don't touch anything unless I tell you to." _"You're coming with?" Sasuke groaned as he slung the pack over his shoulders. _"Duh," _Nagen replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. _"You chose me as your personal soul-sphere kiddo. I __have__ to go with you, whether I like it or not." _"As if I enjoy your company," Sasuke muttered as he stepped into the hallway. Nagen snorted, but didn't comment as he followed the raven down the stairs.

"Good morning Sasuke," Angard's voice called, and a moment later his head poked out from the doorway that led to the kitchen. "Nagen," the brunette said respectfully as Sasuke and the soul-sphere passed by. _"Angard," _Nagen replied smoothly. Rolling his eyes at the obviously fake politeness coming from the orb, Sasuke sat down in front of a bowl of oatmeal with strawberries, a roll of bread and...a tomato?

"Good morning Hawk-Child," Ira said and the blonde appeared out of nowhere at Sasuke's right, her hands holding a strange spear/sword. "You like tomatoes, don't you...?" She asked as Sasuke glanced up at her. "Yeah...?" He replied, unsure. "How did you know I like tomatoes?"

"Oh. Emerald-Eyes told me," Ira explained and turned, her blonde hair sweeping behind her back as she exited the room. Scowling, but still thankful for the gesture nonetheless, Sasuke turned back around and began to eat quietly, blowing on the spoon of oatmeal in his hand to cool it down before eating. "How'd you sleep?" Angard asked and sat down opposite of Sasuke, holding a strange red fruit in the shape of a star in his hand.

"...Alright," Sasuke muttered and bit into his bread. _"Alright?" _Nagen said in disbelief, floating to the middle of the table. _"You were thrashing like something was beating you-Mmmph!" _Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he forcibly wrapped his fist around the soul-sphere, slamming him down on the wooden table and putting a decent sized crack in the wood.

Angard watched as his mouth hung open in mid bite, his eyes on Sasuke's hand and the struggling soul-sphere under it. "Uhh.." The brunette said and swallowed his fruit. "I'll just assume you slept well...?" Sasuke nodded and glared at Nagen, promising the orb he would smash it with a blunt object the next chance he got.

Angard then stood and stretched, yawning as his Whirlpool tattoo spun lazily on his hand. "Almost time to go," he noted as he looked at the ink. Sasuke stood, his breakfast forgotten and releasing Nagen, who seemed to be muttering under his "breath" about bratty little dumbasses.

"When," Sasuke demanded. "Chill Sasuke," Angard replied and gestured to the doorway. "Ira still has things to get ready." Now it was Sasuke's turn to mutter quietly as he sat back down, grasping his tomato and biting into the fruit irritably. _"It's a vegetable,"_ Nagen said suddenly. Sasuke turned his head slowly to gaze at the floating orb. "What?" He asked quietly, his voice dripping with malice.

_"Tomatoes are vegetables,"_ Nagen said pointedly. "They're a fruit," Sasuke growled out, not in the mood for this kind of petty argument. _"Kid, I was alive long before your kind even existed. I think I know what kind of food type a tomato is, and it is obviously a vegetable," _the soul-sphere retorted. Sasuke bit into the red _fruit _again, chewing slowly.

_"I see you don't want to one-up me right now,"_ Nagen said. "Really. What gave it away," Sasuke muttered as he looked straight ahead. Nagen chuckled and started to float out of the room. _"I'll go see if Ira is ready," _Nagen called before he vanished behind the wall. Sasuke blinked lazily and bit into his tomato again. Then the sound of footsteps echoed on wooden floors, before Ira once more appeared in the edge of the Uchiha's vision.

"Impatient, aren't we," said, her voice riddled with amusement as she gazed down at the sitting raven. "Are we ready," Sasuke asked simply while pushing his chair back, standing up and noticing he was now just barely taller than the Daemon before him, who smirked up at him knowingly.

"When one loses sight of what they want, what they want often wants to be seen," Ira murmured and winked. Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Do you really think you are ready for this Sasuke?" Ira laughed, but then her face steadily grew somber. "Or have you lost sight of what you want?" Sasuke stiffened. "...I know what I want," he muttered and tried to move around the Daemon, until she placed her hand on his chest in restraint.

"Hawk-Child, this is most likely the hardest challenge you will ever face. Are you sure you know why you are following through with it?" Ira asked and refused to break eye contact with Sasuke as he tried to turn his head away. "I know," he replied and managed to step back a step. Ira smiled again. "Pray tell your reasons then," she said. Sasuke took a deep breath and shut his eyes.

"For Naruto. For...myself. It sounds selfish but...he's my best friend, my...I don't even know what anymore but...I need to protect him and I need him to be safe," Sasuke whispered. He opened his eyes again to find Ira staring at him intently, her lavender eyes bright and attentive as if searching his very soul for something that even he himself didn't know was there.

Then she stepped back, that knowing smirk on her face, showing she had found what she was looking for. "There are times where you will doubt yourself," she said. "But right now you seem more sure in your decision than any other time in your life." Sasuke tried to speak, but Ira cut him off before he had the chance. "But I warn you," she continued. "Much like I said earlier, which is an old Daemon proverb, don't lose sight of what you want. Because sometimes it won't come back. Now let's go." And with that, Ira turned her back on Sasuke and led the way out of the kitchen.

Sasuke followed closely, picking up his pack which he had dumped on the ground as he went and found Angard and Ira standing by the front door with Nagen floating close to the brunette's head. Both wore what appeared to be normal "human" gear; Angard wore a black jacket and leather pants with ankle high combat sandals, his hair in his standard loose ponytail.

Ira too had tied her hair up in a high ponytail, the red tips of her hair still draped over her shoulder and reaching the middle of her stomach. She wore a dark purple tank top with a tight fitting fish-net shirt underneath, the sleeves reaching her wrists. She wore a black skirt that reached just above her knees and black leather boots that reached the middle of her shins and looked built for running.

Angard scuffed his right foot against the ground. "Let us be off," he announced. Sasuke prepared to run when the brunette lifted his hand. "Since Sakura is with Kunae," he explained, "Nagen can teleport us to her. They worked on it all last night." _"Though the girl can be a dunce, she does learn fast," _Nagen elaborated and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Angard and Ira placed their right hands over each other's on Nagen's smooth glass surface, and Sasuke assumed he was supposed to place his own hand over Ira's and felt energy pulsing deep in her flesh. Then all three of their hands began to vibrate and a deep humming sound came from Nagen, the lights in the home dimming and the orange glow inside the soul-sphere expanding and pulsating around the three figures.

_"Don't move," _Nagen's voice shouted over the rushing sound of air in Sasuke's ears, making it very difficult for him to breathe. As he tried to close his eyes against the blinding orange light, the familiar feeling of being sucked through a narrow tube engulfed his body and air was momentarily withdrawn from his lungs, until he smacked face first into hard compressed dirt.

Sitting up and gulping in air greedily, Sasuke brushed the earth from his face and noticed he was lying in a large patch of bushes, next to a brunette woman who was watching him carefully. "Kunae," he greeted sorely, his throat hurting from the lack of oxygen. "Sasuke," she breathed out. Then she looked over at the green orb by her head. "You didn't tell me he'd be wearing a skirt," the Daemon said quietly but apparently not attempting to hide the comment.

Sakura's voice giggled from the orb. _"Sorry," _she said and floated to the other side. _"Must've forgotten that." _Sasuke scowled at the two and looked around. "Where are the others?" He asked. "Probably heading over here now," Kunae replied and shrugged."I called them over here with the tattoo." Sasuke nodded and sat up fully, Sakura coming over to float by his face. _"Is Kaka-sensei alright? He looked really out of it when I left," _the rosette asked worriedly. Sasuke nodded. "I'm pretty sure they took him home or to the hospital," he replied.

"I didn't see him at Ira's and they didn't talk about him." _"Okay," _Sakura said and the three fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence until the rustling of leaves to Sasuke's left drew their attention to the mop of blonde hair that poked out from the foliage. "Ira!" Kunae whispered happily and scooted over to her sister as she emerged fully into the already cramped space. "And me," Angard muttered as he forced his way inside, pushing Sasuke aside, to which the raven protested.

"Watch it Angard," he hissed as the Daemon's elbow smashed into his ribcage. "Sorry," the brunette whispered. "Got everyone here?" Kunae asked as Nagen drifted into the scene, bobbing wearily in the air to hover by Sasuke's hand. _"...I'll listen. Just go ahead and explain..." _the orb said, words slurred. Sasuke felt the soul-sphere's weight press against his palm and he sighed, grasping the object and giving Nagen a place to rest.

"Have you three figured out who's going inside?" Kunae then asked and Angard nodded. "I will accompany Sasuke inside the base," he murmured. "And I will open another side if need be," Ira added. Kunae nodded and pointed towards Sasuke. "Over there is where the curse rings begin," she explained.

"I've managed to open just enough of an opening in the bindings for two people to pass through, as you know. But, once you're in, the hellhounds and griffins and whatever other hellish spawn the Deceived have recruited will be alerted to your presence. You must take them out before they send any signal to the humans and Daemons inside." Sasuke nodded and Angard waved his hand. "Anything else we need to know?" The brunette asked.

"Yes, actually," Kunae said. "I've been getting strange fluctuations from deep within the earth. "They aren't normal. They're...demonic." Ira drew in a breath sharply and Angard snarled wordlessly, the tattoo on his hand spinning rapidly for a moment as shards of rock lifted into the air around Sasuke. Who was completely lost in this situation, mind you, and as Sakura's soul-sphere brushed against his arm he felt similar emotions brewing inside the rosette.

"They are close to summoning the Kyuubi?" Ira whispered. Kunae nodded slowly and Sasuke felt cold fear clutch at his heart. "They are close...or they have," she replied. "Then we have to move now," Sasuke muttered and turned to crawl towards the area Kunae had mentioned earlier. _I'm not losing him again, _he promised to himself silently. "Hawk-Child, wait," Kunae's voice called out softly and he stopped as Angard pushed past him to crawl ahead, pausing as well to see what his sister needed.

The brunette was leaning forward with her palm extended to Sasuke, and in it she grasped a black chain which held a green crystal with one silver orb on either side of the gem. "I found this when I was scouting inside the curse rings," Kunae murmured. "It belongs to the Fox-...to Naruto." Sasuke froze, his eyes locked on the object which was magnified in his vision due to the sharnigan. Kunae sighed and scooted forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and clasping the necklace so it dangled to his chest.

Her orange and red eyes watched him carefully as his hand rose to grasp the green crystal gently in his fingers. "...Thank you," he whispered and Kunae nodded. "Good luck," she whispered and moved away to sit by Ira and Sakura, who was hovering by the blonde's head, who added something in her own language. Sasuke and Angard then turned away and began to crawl towards the site while pushing small pieces of foliage and branches out of their way. _"Wait up," _Nagen's voice called out and Sasuke soon felt the orb's warm energy by his cheek.

_"Hey dumbass...I'm going to tell you a secret," _the soul-sphere murmured after a pregnant silence between the three men. "What," Sasuke hissed as a branch clipped his cheek. _"The way I died. I was rescuing a...close friend of mine who had been captured by the very same Deceived that you are up against now. And, I failed to save her. So I'm telling you now Sasuke, if you fail...you'll probably live to regret it in some way or another." _Another pang of fear ran through Sasuke's veins, but he ignored it and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," he whispered as Angard suddenly vanished and sunlight filled his vision.

Reaching it, Sasuke stood and saw that he was in the middle of a forest, and as he looked behind himself he saw the bush thicket that they had been hiding in earlier. Then there was an unfamiliar growl from in front. Turning again, Sasuke saw black swirls and dots interlocking on the ground before them, broken in a small place with just enough room for a person to walk through. That's when he saw the creatures that had made those sounds.

Strange red dogs with pointed ears were snarling quietly on the other side of the ink line, their eyes pure orange and their lips drawn back to reveal long, vicious white teeth. Their claws were long and sunk deep into the earth, creating thick gouges as they knead at the ground furiously. Fire blazed on the base of their necks, at their paws, and on their tails, giving their skin a dry and abused appearance. "Hellhounds," Angard muttered and Sasuke saw him suddenly summon a amethyst sword in his left palm, swinging the weapon forward with his eyes locked on the creatures.

Then there was a flapping sound and Sasuke saw a tan creature with wings on its back alight on a tree inside the barrier, its eagle head watching the raven warily while its lion's paws clawed at the bark beneath it. More of the creatures then came from inside the depths of the surrounding trees, noises that sounded like a cross between a bird's cry and a lion's roar emitting from their beaks. "Griffins," Angard then said. "And they were expecting us," Sasuke replied as he drew Kusanagi, the katana's blade shining in the sunlight.

An idea formed in his head suddenly, and he turned to Angard while keeping his katana pointed at the creatures before him. "Can our attacks reach them inside the barrier?" He asked and the brunette looked down at him curiously. "They think the barrier is whole," Sasuke explained and pointed to a hellhound who was barely brushing the ink with its claw.

"Can we attack them from out here?" He asked again. Angard gazed at their opponents thoughtfully. "We may alert the humans below," the Daemon warned and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If they know we're here," he said and pointed to the creatures, "then the Deceived are sure to know as well. We don't have anything to lose so can we attack them from out here or not?" Angard again shifted so his right hand appeared to be holding a crystal bow. "We can sure as hell try," the brunette muttered and a quiver of black arrows appeared on his back.

Sasuke nodded and pressed his palm to the ground, suddenly remembering something that his clone had experienced. "Chidori Nagashi!" He shouted and a rush of chakra surged inside of him, expanding in every direction out of his body in the form of lightning as more of the energy rushed into the ground and began to electrocute the hellhounds on the ground, their cries and snarls of pain mixing with the sound of chirping birds. Angard quickly drew three arrows from his quiver and launched them up into the trees where the griffins sat, their screams echoing around the trees as they were struck.

"Keep that up and _run!_" Angard commanded and sprinted forward through the break in the curse ring as Nagen zipped by, orange energy emitting from the orb and striking any hellhound that wasn't affected by Sasuke's chidori. Flowing the chakra to his feet, the Uchiha pelted forward and swung his katana at a hellhound that leapt towards him with its teeth aiming for his throat, cutting through flesh and purple blood spurted from the wound.

Every time his feet touched the ground, more lightning crackled and more hellhounds fell to the ground, snarling and snapping their jaws at his ankles as he sprinted by. Then he saw Angard farther ahead, barely dodging a griffin that swung its claws at his side viciously. The Daemon's eyes narrowed and Sasuke saw their depths change from ice blue and brown to pure black as he swung his purple sword forward, cutting the griffin's head off, where it landed with a thump on the ground.

_"Come on!" _Nagen yelled and appeared in front of Sasuke, more orange bolts firing from his depths and shooting any hellhound or griffin that got too close. Shaking his head to clear the image of Angard out of his head, the raven picked up his pace and pelted past hellhounds, slashing gashes mercilessly into their hides and hearing the howls of pain as trees became nothing but a brown and green blur, broken by the occasional red of a hellhound or white and tan of a griffin.

"Do you even know where we're going?!" He shouted ahead to Angard as he was forced to stop and block the claws of a griffin that was slashing at his face. The Daemon didn't reply as he kicked a hellhound back and in the same motion brought his sword down on a griffin's back, causing Sasuke to hold back a wince at the sound of crushing bone. "Oi, Angard!" He yelled again and formed a chidori on his palm, jabbing it into the griffin's chest and feeling the flesh constrict around his fingers disgustingly.

Again Sasuke was ignored when Angard suddenly leaped into a throng of hellhounds that were snarling and yowling as he vanished into their depths, and the raven thought that the Daemon had a death wish when he didn't rise from the writhing mass when his amethyst sword, doused in a deeper shade of purple blood arose into the air and slashed onto one of dog's neck, bringing the creature crashing to the ground, yelping.

Sasuke dropped his now dead griffin and ran forward to try and help Angard, but was suddenly pushed away by a black mass of _something _that swelled from the middle of the hellhounds, pushing them all away and causing their snarls of fury to turn to whimpers of fear of the pure evil that suddenly surged. _"Enough Angard!" _Nagen yelled and zoomed into the black air, vanishing from Sasuke's sight, which could just barely make out Angard's figure in the darkness.

Then the suction stopped and Sasuke stood completely still as silence enveloped the area, save for the dying screams of various hellhounds and griffins, and Angard staggered forward with steam rising from his shoulders...and the left half of his face scarred and his hair on that side missing. Sasuke fought the urge to drop his katana at the horribly familiar sight as Angard limped forward. "...Now you know why I looked the way I did before," the brunette coughed and attempted to smile at Sasuke, but it turned out as more of a grimace.

_"You are such a child," _Nagen said and the orb knocked into the right side of Angard's head, much to the brunette's displeasure. _"I thought I made sure that kind of technique was forbidden in the Year of Silence." _Angard coughed again. "Yeah well...it didn't work," the brunette replied and a rush of annoyance surged from Nagen, but the orange orb didn't comment as the scars on Angard's face flowed like water back into smooth skin and his hair regrew.

"The rest are wounded and probably can't reach the stone," Angard said after he was finished healing and went to retrieve his sword and bow, which he had dropped on the ground earlier. "What was that anyway?" Sasuke asked. "...You know that I am half-Demon. It's sort of a...trait they possess," the brunette said lowly. "It's hard to suppress you know, the evil. And when it gets out well...that happens." He gestured to the large crater in the ground where the eruption had been.

"And in answer to your previous question Sasuke, yes, I know where we are going." Sasuke nodded as Angard sheathed his sword and collected his arrows, leaving the raven to clean the purple blood off his katana and gaze around at the mangled corpses of the hellhounds and griffins. "Let's go," the brunette announced when he was done. Nodding, Sasuke leapt silently into the treetops and began to jump from branch to branch, letting Angard lead but still trying to move as fast as he could to the stone...to where Naruto lay suffering.

_8-8-8-8-8-8_

"Here we are," Angard said and leapt down from the tall oak they had been standing in, landing in a very familiar clearing that Sasuke had seen before. Following the Daemon, he crouched and rose his head slowly to gaze at the smooth black boulder that had gold engravings carved into its face. "All you have to do is push it," Angard explained and Sasuke nodded, rising to his feet to walk over and place his palms on the rock, Nagen following closely behind.

Just as he was about to touch it however, a blue orb of air crashed into his chest and sent the raven flying backward into Angard, who staggerer back under the force of the attack. Whipping his head up to glare in fury at the space where the attack originated, Sasuke saw six shadowy figures milling about on the other side of the clearing. "Welcome back, Uchiha," a cold voice announced, and Sasuke recognized it immediately. "You," he snarled.

There was a cold chuckle, and then a figure draped in a black robe stepped into the light, his jet black hair longer than Sasuke remembered, but his hazel eyes cold and unforgiving as before. Three more people followed the man and Sasuke recognized the twins who Angard and Naruto had fought before, the the red haired man that Sakura had been chasing. "Ready for your reward?" The man said and stepped forward and Sasuke didn't miss the flash of a blade in his sleeve.

"I must say, it is impressive that you made it through all those hellhounds and griffins without so much as a scratch," the bald twin to Sasuke's right said and a barbed staff emerged from his own robe. "But your journey stops here," the red haired man said and an axe appeared in his fist. "Who are you four," Angard asked lowly as Sasuke began to summon small shruikens into his palms.

"Well...you're about to die, so I may as well tell you," the hazel eyed man before them yawned. "I am Vixyed," he said. "And this is Adren," he gestured to the twin to Sasuke's left, "Tanren," he motioned to the other, "And Puldrey." Vixyed's eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "Craiden would have been here too," he hissed. Sasuke glared in return. "You know what I am here for," he snarled. "Too bad you can't have it," a new voice announced.

Sasuke and Angard watched in confusion as the four before them parted and a new figure stepped into the light. Then Nagen gasped. Consecro wore a white tunic with brown leather pants and black sandals, watching the Daemon and the shinobi before him with cold hazel eyes. "Consecro?" Angard asked slowly. Consecro grinned and bowed. "Hello, Master Angard," he greeted respectfully.

_"What are you doing here child," _Nagen growled and floated forward. Consecro laughed. "I am trying to become whole of course," Consecro replied. "But you're dead," Sasuke pointed out. "You think I don't know that?" Consecro hissed and glared at the raven, his good mood vanishing. "By summoning the Kyuubi, the strongest of all demons, the Seekers can revive me!" "The Seekers?" Sasuke whispered to Angard. "It's what the Deceived refer to themselves as," Angard muttered back.

Consecro tilted his head to the side as he appraised Sasuke. "I must say, Sasuke, I had no idea the connection you had to the Kyuubi vessel. When I found out, it was a pleasant surprise. You know, despite how much a 'prodigy' you are, you're incredibly thick, considering I tried to get your attention last night," the brunette growled. Sasuke shifted his stance. "Where is Naruto," he growled. All five figures before him laughed.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. Consecro motioned for the others to step back. "Move the rock and find out," he offered, waving towards the boulder. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke hesitantly moved forward towards the rock, keeping a careful watch on the group before him as he placed his palms on the smooth surface, pushing it away endlessly.

Then a fist connected with his chin, sending him high into the air. As he crashed to the ground, the Uchiha coughed and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth as dust billowed from the place he had been, a shadowy figure in its depths. The raven stood slowly, katana held in front of him as an eerily familiar voice shouted from the dusty depths and a flash of blue that Sasuke had longed to see appeared in front of his eyes.

And then Naruto's enraged face emerged from the cloud and his fist smashed into Sasuke's chest, sending the Uchiha into a tree, which fell over from the impact. Sasuke looked up in surprise as Naruto leaped up and was silhouetted by the sun, his hand reaching down to grasp Sasuke's throat. Twisting, the raven leapt off the log he laid on and glared at Consecro. "What the fuck did you do to him?!" he shouted. The five laughed as Naruto landed a few yards in front of Sasuke, wearing the orange and black out Sasuke had seen in the mirror, minus the hitai-ate.

But on his face were black characters etched into his skin that crackled with red lightning every so often. Consecro stepped forward and clasped his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We broke him," the Damned replied smoothly.

* * *

And that's it for the Sun and the Moon! I'm going to start working on Crimson Eyes now, so you can expect the sequel for this in a week or so. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the next book as much as I will enjoy writing it! :)

~Astridelta


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